FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bob Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of recent comments by elected politicians in Bosnia and Herzegovina; and what assessment he has made of the potential of such comments to cause further ethnic tension in that region.

David Lidington: We remain concerned at the level of divisive ethnic rhetoric in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and at challenges to the legitimacy of the State from politicians in the Republika Srpska in particular. The Government unequivocally supports the territorial integrity of BiH, and will not tolerate attempts to undermine the Dayton Agreement or the rule of law in BiH.
	There remains a risk that political challenges might increase tensions and spill over to the security situation. We will continue to monitor this. We continue to work through the International Community to promote stability and security in BiH. In this context, the executive mandates of the EU-led peacekeeping mission, EUFOR (European Union Force) Althea, and the High Representative remain important safeguards.
	The company of Irish Guards, which forms the UK contribution to the EUFOR regional reserve, will deploy to BiH in April to participate in a EUFOR training exercise with BiH armed forces and undertake a range of defence engagement activities. This demonstrates very visibly our continued commitment to ensuring the stability and security of BiH.

British Indian Ocean Territory

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the reply on 6 March 2013, whether this is the review that he indicated would take place in June 2010; and if he will meet the Chagos Islands (BIOT) All-Party Parliamentary Group to discuss the options being considered by the review.

Mark Simmonds: No, this review follows the European Court of Human Rights decision of December 2012. As the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), said in his letter of 24 February to the hon. Member, he would be happy to meet the All-Party Parliamentary Group later in the year when the Government has made progress with the review.

Members: Correspondence

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he plans to respond to correspondence from the hon. Member for Basildon and Billericay of 6 December 2012, 20 December 2012, 23 January 2013 and 26 February 2013 regarding a constituent, Ms Lynda Stares.

Alistair Burt: The Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Boston and Skegness (Mark Simmonds), replied to my hon. Friend’s letter on 8 March 2013. I apologise for the delayed response. This was due to a technical error with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's IT system.

North Korea

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will lead an effort at the United Nations Human Rights Council's February to March session to secure the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry into human rights violations in North Korea.

Hugo Swire: The British Government will co-sponsor a UN resolution recommending that the UN establish a Commission of Inquiry into human rights violations in North Korea. The Government will be lobbying members of the Human Rights Council to accept this proposal.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Budget March 2013

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions Ministers in her Department had with Ministers in HM Treasury on Northern Ireland issues in the run-up to the Budget Statement.

Theresa Villiers: I have regular discussions with Treasury Ministers on a wide range of issues relating to Northern Ireland in the run-up to the Budget, but it has always been the practice of successive Governments to keep all Budget-related discussions private.

Electoral Register

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if she will provide additional resources to the Electoral Commission in Northern Ireland to increase the number of electoral registration events to be held in areas affected by the recent disturbances.

Michael Penning: Electoral registration is the responsibility of the Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland, not the Electoral Commission.
	I am pleased that the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland has been able to hold a number of registration events in recent months. The Electoral Office has written to all the main political parties with an offer to hold events and is also in touch with a number of community organisations about their plans for registration activity. That activity has been managed within existing resources and includes 18 registration clinics throughout the month of March.

Firearms: Licensing

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many firearms licences have been (a) granted, (b) renewed and (c) revoked in each year since 2007.

Theresa Villiers: The issuing of licences in respect of firearms is a devolved function that is exercised by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). You may therefore wish to direct your question to them.

G8

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department, the Scottish Government and the Welsh Government about security in the run-up to the G8 Summit in Northern Ireland.

Theresa Villiers: I have discussed the G8 Summit with Ministers from across Government. Officials in the Northern Ireland Office have been working closely with colleagues in the Home Office on G8 security issues and will continue to in the lead up to the Summit. To date I have not had any discussions with the Scottish and Welsh Governments on the topic of the G8 Summit.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Biofuels

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether he plans to provide subsidies for bioliquids.

John Hayes: Bioliquids are currently supported in the renewables obligation (RO). To date the vast majority of bioliquids used to generate electricity under the RO have been derived from wastes or residues. Bioliquids can be highly sustainable and generate useful renewable energy, and we consider it is right to continue to support electricity generated using these fuels under the RO.
	The RO includes sustainability criteria that bioliquids must meet in order to be eligible for support. Following the recent banding review a 4% cap is being introduced on the proportion of their renewables obligation that suppliers can meet using renewables obligation certificates issued for electricity generated from bioliquids. The UK will continue to support measures to improve the sustainability criteria at a European level.

Green Deal Scheme

Christopher Pincher: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the use of (a) solid wall insulation, (b) cavity wall insulation, (c) loft insulation, including lost insulation top-ups and (d) smart meters in the Green Deal.

Gregory Barker: Solid wall insulation, cavity wall insulation and loft insulation are all eligible energy saving measures in the Green Deal. Smart meters, which will be rolled out to all households, are not themselves an eligible measure under the Green Deal, but they are expected to reinforce the Green Deal by encouraging take-up of measures and helping consumers to maximise their savings.

Ofgem

Pamela Nash: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many staff employed by Ofgem received bonuses in 2012.

John Hayes: The information requested is a matter for Ofgem. I have asked the chief executive of Ofgem to write to the hon. Member and we will place a copy of his letter in the Libraries of the House.

Peat Bogs

Tony Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his policy is on the siting of energy infrastructure on peatlands.

John Hayes: Applicants for consent for major energy infrastructure must provide assessments of potential biodiversity and geological impacts which would include an assessment of the effects of locating the infrastructure on peatland if that was the case. The decision-making authority would need to take such impacts into account before making its decision.
	The National Policy Statement for Renewable Energy Infrastructure (EN-3)(1) contains further information on the assessment of applications for consent for onshore wind farms on peat.
	(1)https://Whitehall-admin.production.alphagov.co.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/37048/1940-nps-renewable-energy-en3.pdf

Peat Bogs

Tony Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what consideration is given to the capacity of peatlands to sequester carbon dioxide in the strategy to achieve carbon dioxide reduction targets.

John Hayes: We acknowledge the importance of peatland restoration in maintaining carbon stocks and recognise their potential for sequestering additional carbon.
	At present peatlands, are not accounted for in UK greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will publish a methodology to account for peatlands in July 2013, and we are currently considering what land use and forestry activities the UK will account for in the period 2013-20.

WALES

Plants

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much his Department spent on indoor and outdoor plants and trees in each year between 2005 and 2010.

Stephen Crabb: Between 2005 and 2009, the Wales Office did not purchase any plants. In 2010, the Office spent £20 on indoor plants.
	The Wales Office did not purchase any trees between 2005 and 2007. During this period the Office were gifted two Christmas trees each year from the Forestry Commission in Wales.
	From 2008 to 2010, the Wales Office purchased annually two Christmas trees from sustainable sources. The trees cost £120 in 2008, £210 in 2009 and £300 in 2010.
	No other plants or trees have been purchased.

Social Fund

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had in the Joint Ministerial Committee on the localisation of the discretionary social fund in Wales to the Welsh Government in April 2013; and how this is to be administered.

Stephen Crabb: Ministers meet regularly with the devolved Administrations in the Joint Ministerial Committee, most recently on 6 March 2013. The proceedings of the Joint Ministerial Committee are confidential in order to permit free and candid discussion, as set out in the Memorandum of Understanding and Supplementary Agreements between the United Kingdom Government, the Scottish Ministers, the Welsh Ministers, and the Northern Ireland Executive Committee.
	The Welsh Government will not be administering the discretionary element of the Social Fund. Some discretionary payments are being abolished from April 2013 and funding is being provided for new better targeted local provision through arrangements made by the Welsh and Scottish Governments and local authorities in England.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Bus Services: Conditions of Employment

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent assessment he has made of the (a) operation and (b) application of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 in the bus industry.

Jo Swinson: We have not recently assessed the operation and application of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (‘TUPE’) in the bus industry. However, we are reviewing TUPE as part of the Employment Law Review to ensure that, while complying with the provisions of the Acquired Rights Directive, the regulations are generally working effectively for both employers and employees. On 17 January 2013, the Government issued a formal consultation on possible amendments to the regulations. The consultation document is at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/transfer-of-undertakings-protection-of-employment-regulations-tupe-2006-consultation-on-proposed-changes
	It is open to anyone, including representatives of the bus industry, to respond and I would very much encourage them to do so. The consultation closes on 11 April 2013 and the Government intends to respond within 12 weeks of the date of closure.

Business: Lancaster

Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what provisions he is making to ensure that small to medium-sized businesses in Lancaster and Fleetwood constituency have sufficient access to credit.

Michael Fallon: Ensuring the flow of credit to viable small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the UK is a core priority for this Government.
	We have taken a number of steps to ensure better access to bank finance, including:
	Encouraging banks and building societies to increase lending to UK households and businesses by lowering interest rates and increasing access to credit, through the Funding for Lending Scheme.
	Ensuring viable businesses with insufficient track record/collateral to secure a commercial loan, can still borrow from banks through the Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG). From January 2009 to date, there have been 22 EFG loans offered and drawn down in Lancaster and Fleetwood with a total value of £2.42 million.
	We have also taken a number of steps to encourage the development of alternative sources of finance, including incentivising private sector investment and creating the conditions for small companies to grow using a range of financing tools. Measures include:
	Increased funding for the Start-Up Loan Scheme by £30 million to £110 million. The scheme provides advice and start-up finance (around £2,500) for 18 to 30-year-olds looking to start and grow their own businesses. Since its launch in 2012, there have been 28 loans approved in Lancashire with a total value of £130,000.
	Direct investments in non bank sources of finance, through the £1.2 billion Business Finance Partnership (BFP).
	A six month pilot from early 2013, providing a Government guarantee to Kingfisher Group to facilitate additional trade credit to SMEs.
	Increased funding for the Government's Enterprise Capital Funds programme, increasing our commitment by £200 million, providing for more than £300 million of venture capital investment to address the equity gap for early stage innovative SMEs with the highest growth potential.
	Establishment of a £50 million Business Angel Co-Investment Fund. The Fund invests with syndicates of business angels who are interested in investing in SMEs in qualifying areas of England.
	In order to consolidate all these interventions, and address the funding gap faced by small businesses, we have also announced the creation of a new Government-backed business bank. The Business Bank will receive £1 billion of Government funding, which it will use to lever in extra private sector finance. £300 million of this will be invested by the Government and private investors over the next two years to provide diverse sources of funding for SMEs.

Higher Education: Barrow in Furness

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many young people completing full-time education in Barrow and Furness constituency continued into higher education in each of the last five years; and what proportion of each cohort those figures represent.

David Willetts: Figures on progression to higher education are not published at parliamentary constituency level for individual years.
	The estimated proportions of maintained schools pupils from Cumbria who progressed to higher education by age 19 are shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Estimated proportions of maintained schools pupils from Cumbria who progressed to higher education by age 19: UK Higher education institutions and English further education colleges 
			 Academic year Percentage entered HE 
			 2006/07 32 
			 2007/08 32 
			 2008/09 32 
			 2009/10 33 
			 Source: Matched data from the DFE National Pupil Database, the HESA Student Record and the SFA ILR 
		
	
	Figures are not available before 2006/07. Robust figures by parliamentary constituency are not available from this source.
	The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) have published rates of participation of young people in higher education over a five-year span. HEFCE estimate that the progression rate by age 19 for Barrow and Furness parliamentary constituency was 30.7% in the period 2005/06 to 2009/10. This was lower than the rate for Cumbria (32.9%) and the overall rate for England (34.2%). HEFCE figures are not comparable with those produced by BIS as they use different methodology. HEFCE figures use population estimates while the BIS figures use matched data covering maintained schools pupils.
	Information on progression of pupils to higher education is available from the BIS Widening Participation statistical release of August 2012:
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/analysis/statistics/higher-education/official-statistics-releases/widening-participation-in-higher-education/widening-participation-in-higher-education-2012
	The HEFCE report on young participation is available from the following link:
	http://www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/year/2012/201226/#d.en.75676
	Detailed information is available at the following link:
	http://www.hefce.ac.uk/whatwedo/wp/ourresearch/polar/polar3data/

Investment: Lancaster

Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to promote private investment in Lancaster and Fleetwood constituency.

Michael Fallon: The Government wants to make the UK the best place in the world to start, finance and grow a business. We are supporting businesses across the UK by enabling better access to both debt and equity finance; reducing red tape; providing easier access to public procurement opportunities; and making sure that the support we provide is delivered in the most effective and efficient way possible.
	The Lancashire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), which includes Lancaster and Fleetwood, brings together business and civic leaders to drive sustainable economic growth.
	Several Regional Growth Fund (RGF) projects have been selected in the county of Lancashire which have benefitted the whole area:
	Regenerate Pennine Lancashire: a £7.5 million programme, leveraging over £30 million private sector investment, to provide capital investment for small and medium-sized enterprises to expand.
	Lancashire Business View: a £4 million pan-Lancashire Programme providing capital grants to start up and young companies.
	Subject to due diligence (Round 3 contracting) the Lancashire LEP area has been allocated approaching £30 million across Rounds 1, 2 and 3 of the RGF.

Shipping: Training

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the likely effects on training rates for seafarer (a) ratings and (b) officers of not extending the right to request time to train to employees working for companies with fewer than 250 staff.

Matthew Hancock: While there has been no assessment of the impact of changes to the right to request time to train on individual sectors of the economy, the Government held an open consultation on the future of the right in August 2010. There was a good response to the consultation with 147 responses received by the closing date. Responses to the consultation were strongly polarized.
	We concluded it was appropriate to retain the right, but not proceed with the planned extension to employees in small and medium-sized enterprises in April 2011. This decision recognised the need to maintain a focus on the importance of workplace training, while protecting smaller businesses from potential burdens in line with the Coalition’s principles for reducing regulation and creating conditions for growth.
	The Government intends to undertake a formal evaluation of the right by April 2015. This will allow an evidence-based decision to be made at that stage whether the right should then be extended to employees in small and medium organisations, be retained in its current form, or be repealed.
	The Merchant Navy Training Board has responsibility for setting and approving training standards for British seafarers in the Merchant Navy. These are designed to meet international requirements as well as providing recognised qualifications.

Shops: Empty Property

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2013, Official Report, column 114W, on shops: empty property, what research, surveys, studies or data gathering his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) subscribed to on shop vacancy rates by locality.

Michael Fallon: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the Department for Communities and Local Government have observer status on the Distressed Town Centre Properties Task Force, chaired by the British Council of Shopping Centres, which is currently undertaking a research project which includes an analysis of vacancy rates and the impact on town centres.
	BIS has also a long-standing subscription with Verdict Research, whose reports on a wide range of retail issues include data and analysis on vacancy rates in localities. In 2011 the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills published a report 'Understanding High Street Performance' which also included data and analysis on vacancy rates.
	There are also several commercial sources of shop vacancy rates data, including that available from the Local Data Company and Springboard, and who publish overall trends in the public domain.

Ultra Electronics

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what meetings (a) Ministers, (b) officials and (c) special advisers of his Department have had with Mr Douglas Caster, Chairman of Ultra Electronics Holdings plc, since May 2010.

Jo Swinson: Mr Douglas Caster met with Lord Green of Hurstpierpoint and other Members of the Middle East Task Force on 11 July 2011 and 7 February 2012.
	No records are held of meetings between Mr Douglas Caster and any other BIS Minister or their special advisers.
	Any information relating to meetings held between officials and Mr Douglas Caster could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Vocational Training

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many of the successful bidders under the first round of the Employer Ownership Pilot have not yet drawn down funds.

Matthew Hancock: 25 Round 1 Employer Ownership projects are now operational. Of these, 15 have not yet drawn down any funding.
	Funding for the projects is paid against actual delivery, claimed in the majority of cases on a quarterly cycle. The 15 projects above have therefore started to deliver but have not yet made their first claim. Individual Grant Offer Letters set out the timetable for payments against milestones agreed with each grant recipient.
	There are also a small number of projects in the final stages of grant negotiation and due diligence checks, which are not yet operational.

Vocational Training

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills by what date he expects all funds to be available to be drawn down by successful bidders under the second round of the Employer Ownership Pilot; and what deadlines he has set for this.

Matthew Hancock: Funding for the Employer Ownership Pilot is within the Adult Skills Budget and is already available for the project.
	As payments will usually be made quarterly in arrears against agreed milestones we would expect the first claims to be received in January 2014 for projects starting in October 2013. Grant payments will be negotiated individually with the grant recipient so a deadline for payments cannot be set.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for the future of artificial limb services at Headley Court after the end of UK military involvement in Afghanistan; whether the scale of such services will be maintained; whether there will be spare capacity for use by limbless veterans who have returned to civilian life; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Francois: Ministers give the highest priority to the care pathway for injured troops, including the role of the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre at Headley Court in rehabilitation.
	The Government has made £6.5 million available to guarantee that all serving and former members of our armed forces injured serving in Iraq or Afghanistan will be able to have the latest technology prosthetics.
	The clinical requirement for rehabilitation at Headley Court is continually monitored. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is in a commercial relationship with Chas A Blatchford and Son Ltd for the provision of prosthetics services, which is based on sessional engagement to meet any increase or decrease of service needed. The contract works exceptionally well for Defence and is flexible enough to meet demand.
	Equally, the Government is investing up to £15 million over three years to support the key recommendations contained in the report by the Minister for International Security Strategy, my hon. Friend the Member for South West Wiltshire (Dr Murrison), published on 27 October 2011, ‘Better Deal for Military Amputees’, which sought to improve prosthetics services for armed forces veterans who have lost a limb due to activities while serving their country. As such, the Department of Health recently announced the locations for nine prosthetic and rehabilitation centres across England, for amputee veterans.
	The choice of centre should be based on the patient's place of residence but with the knowledge that the prosthetic support will be maintained at the same level, subject to clinical need, as that provided at the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre. The Government wants to raise awareness of this funding so that all veterans who have lost a limb in the service of their country can benefit from the work the NHS can do with prosthetics.

Armed Forces: Redundancy

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many personnel from Northern Ireland serving in the (a) Royal Navy, (b) Army and (c) Royal Air Force were made redundant in (i) tranche 1 and (ii) tranche 2; what support has been provided to them to enable them to find suitable alternative employment; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Francois: We estimate that, in a typical year, some 2% of those joining the armed forces have made use of a careers office in Northern Ireland. However this figure is only indicative of the proportion originating in Northern Ireland, as recruits can join the services at any Careers Office, irrespective of where they reside. The armed forces' administrative systems record the nationality of recruits from Northern Ireland as British. Although service personnel have the option of recording a secondary nationality (such as ‘British/N Irish’), this is voluntary, so we cannot state with certainty how many of those made redundant in tranches 1 and 2 originate in Northern Ireland.
	Regardless of their place of origin, prior to leaving, all service personnel are entitled to some form of resettlement assistance consisting of time, money and training according to length of service. Those who have served six years or more, and all those medically discharged regardless of how long served, are entitled to the full resettlement programme, which includes a three-day career transition workshop, use of a career consultant, a job-finding service, retraining time and retraining grant. Individuals selected for redundancy are entitled to the same resettlement package which they would have received had they completed the whole of their service commitment. This resettlement package includes the services of the Career Transition Partnership which has a Regional Resettlement Centre at Aldergrove. Furthermore, service leavers are entitled to lifetime job-finding support through either the Officers Association or the Regular Forces Employment Association.

Cybercrime

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much funding he has allocated under each budget heading to his Department's cyber-security budget in each of the last three years.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 4 February 2013
	Cyber security is the responsibility of all personnel within the Ministry of Defence, and we are taking action to treat it as a mainstream task in the way we conduct operations and business. In doing so, we draw on funding from a wide range of sources and budgets. Full details are being withheld for the purpose of safeguarding national security. However, the MOD is currently investing centrally allocated money from the National Cyber Security programme as an outcome of the strategic defence and security review 2010.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects the Joint Strike Fighter to be cleared for flight testing.

Philip Dunne: A flight clearance for the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) flight test fleet was issued on 1 March 2013.

North Africa

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the effect of recent events in North Africa on future defence operational capability.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 11 March 2013
	The Defence Equipment Plan and Future Force 2020 will deliver agile and capable British forces that will continue to meet the range of military tasks set out in the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) in 2010, and thus ensure that we can react quickly to emerging and novel threats.
	Support to current operations in Afghanistan remains our priority, but we also ensure that we are able to provide contingent capability to deal with a wide range of security challenges to UK interests. That was the case before the recent events in North Africa and it will remain the case.

Pipelines

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what revenue is currently received from the Government pipeline and storage system.

Philip Dunne: holding answer 12 March 2013
	The revenue received from the Government Pipeline and Storage System (GPSS) is included in the impact assessment which was published alongside the draft Energy Bill in November 2012. The GPSS' revenue comprises payments from the United States Visiting Forces and commercial sources for the use of spare capacity totalling £39 million. In addition, the Ministry of Defence pays a notional charge of approximately £13 million per annum.

Rosyth Dockyard

Gordon Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to announce final decisions following the consultation on the disposal of seven decommissioned nuclear submarines currently located at Rosyth.

Philip Dunne: As part of the Submarine Dismantling Project, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) carried out a public consultation on its proposals for dismantling the UK's redundant defuelled nuclear-powered submarines, including those in afloat storage at Devonport and Rosyth dockyards.
	The MOD has revised its analysis to take account of the comments received during consultation, which has informed the business case prepared as part of the MOD's Main Gate approval process. We expect to announce the resultant decisions in the near future.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Fires: Nuisance

Steve Brine: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will take steps to encourage more local authorities to adopt appropriate codes of practice to deal with nuisance bonfires.

Richard Benyon: In some circumstances smoke from bonfires can constitute a statutory nuisance under the Environmental Protection Act 1990. That legislation gives local authorities the powers to deal with statutory nuisances. Local authorities take into account a number of case-specific factors when assessing statutory nuisance complaints, including the reasonableness of the activity being carried out, the time of day of the occurrence, its duration and its frequency of occurrence. The local authority is best placed to assess and react to individual and local circumstances, and to determine how it will enforce the legislation and ensure that the local community does not suffer from nuisance bonfires.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will institute independent testing and accreditation of the leakage rates of fluorinated gases from heat pumps.

Richard Benyon: The requirements of the current EU Regulation on fluorinated gases (EC 842/2006) for containment, leakage detection and prevention, and for related training and certification already apply to fluorinated gases in a range of equipment, including heat pumps.
	We are not considering introducing any further requirements under this regulation relating specifically to fluorinated gases in heat pumps.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his Department's most recent greenhouse gas conversion factors for leakage rates of heat pumps are; and whether those conversion factors have been independently verified.

Richard Benyon: The 2012 update of the DEFRA/Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) conversion factors states that the annual leakage rate for heat pumps is 6%. This figure is taken from an independent study carried out by ICF in 2011, commissioned by DECC. The study reviewed and updated or replaced all assumptions, and rebuilt the model for estimating emissions from refrigeration and air conditioning for the UK greenhouse gas inventory. Section 4.9 of the report relates to heat pumps with all references elaborated in section 4.9.4. The report is available on:
	www.gov.uk
	at:
	www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/48250/3844-greenhouse-gas-inventory-improvement-project-deve.PDF

Inland Waterways

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much the Environment Agency spent on watercourse maintenance work in each year since 2007-08; and how much the Environment Agency will spend in this manner in the next three years.

Richard Benyon: The Environment Agency has assessed that the following amounts were allocated to its maintenance of watercourses for each year listed in the following table. The figure for 2014-15 shows the indicative allocation.
	
		
			  Maintenance of watercourses (£ million) 
			 2007-08 n/a 
			 2008-09 68 
			 2009-10 68 
			 2010-11 57 
			 2011-12 53 
			 2012-13 57 
			 2013-14 45 
			 2014-15 39 
			 n/a = not available. 
		
	
	The maintenance of assets is carried out using a risk-based approach. This allows investment to be made where it will contribute most to reducing the potential for damage and where it is economically and environmentally justified. Each site is different so the Environment Agency chooses the most suitable maintenance activity for each stretch of river, coastline or defence system.
	The figures shown are for maintenance work carried out by the Environment Agency that includes:
	maintaining flood barriers and pumping stations;
	clearing grills and removing obstructions from rivers;
	controlling aquatic weed within rivers;
	dredging and de-silting of rivers;
	managing grass, trees and bushes on flood embankments; and
	inspection and repair of flood defence structures.
	The Environment Agency is working in partnership in a number of areas to improve its efficiency. It is on track to achieve its corporate plan target for asset condition in ‘high consequence systems’, ensuring at least 97% of these assets are in target condition.

Litter: Yorkshire and the Humber

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  how many street litter control notices have been issued in (a) Brigg and Goole constituency and (b) Yorkshire and the Humber in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many litter clearance notices have been issued in (a) Brigg and Goole constituency and (b) Yorkshire and the Humber in each of the last five years.

Richard Benyon: Information on street litter control notices and litter clearance notices is not held centrally.

Slaughterhouses: Inspections

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many checks were made on abattoirs in England in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012; how many staff were employed in making those checks; and how many prosecutions resulted from those checks.

Anna Soubry: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department of Health.
	Food Standards Agency (FSA) official veterinarians and meat hygiene inspectors, either employed by the FSA, or supplied through an approved contractor, are typically present during processing of animals. They carry out a range of duties, including ante- and post mortem checks (checks on live animals and carcases and offal) and checks on the health and welfare of animals presented for slaughter. These official control duties ensure that food businesses operators have produced meat in accordance with regulatory requirements, with a health mark applied to show that meat is safe to enter the food chain.
	As well as daily checks, official veterinarians also carry out audits on a risk-based frequency. The following table states the number of food business operator audits completed at slaughterhouses (red meat, poultry and game handling establishments) in England in 2010, 2011 and 2012:
	
		
			  Number of audits 
			 2010 664 
			 2011 742 
			 2012 759 
		
	
	The following table states the number of frontline staff, employed or supplied through contractors, carrying out official control duties in FSA approved meat establishments in England in 2010, 2011 and 2012:
	
		
			  Number of staff (full-time equivalents) 
			 2010 911 
			 2011 899 
			 2012 878 
		
	
	The following table states the number of prosecutions for approved slaughterhouses that resulted from referrals for offences in each of the years 2010, 2011 and 2012 (i.e. that can be said to have resulted from inspections in those years):
	
		
			  Prosecutions 
			 2010 8 
			 2011 4 
			 2012 2

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Conditions of Employment

Julie Elliott: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, how many people are employed on zero-hour contracts in the House of Commons.

John Thurso: As at 31 January 2013, 157 people were employed by the House of Commons on casual contracts, where they are contracted to work for an unspecified number of hours a week. This represents some 8.8% of the total work force. They work in a wide range of roles including in catering and as visitor assistants. As far as possible, hours to be worked—which vary considerably—are decided in advance on the basis of mutual agreement. These staff are in receipt of many of the same benefits as other members of House staff, such as 28 days annual leave a year (accrued based on each hour that they work) and sick absence pay. They are also entitled to join the House of Commons pension scheme from their first day and are automatically enrolled into if they are contracted for a year or more.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Automatic Number Plate Recognition

Michael Ellis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what changes in the frequency of seizure of stolen vehicles and vehicles otherwise used in crime that can be attributed to automatic number plate recognition technology there have been since 2010 in (a) the UK and (b) Northamptonshire.

Jeremy Browne: The data requested is not held centrally.

Communications Data Bill (Draft)

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what documents explaining the details of the revised draft Communications Data Bill her Department has prepared and published.

James Brokenshire: Alongside the draft Bill, the Government published a range of supporting documents, including Explanatory Notes, a Delegated Powers Memorandum and a Memorandum on its compliance with the European Convention on Human Rights, and an explanatory 'Q&A' briefing document. We also submitted extensive written evidence to the Joint Committee on the draft Communications Data Bill.
	The Bill and its supporting documents are being revised in line with the Joint Committee's recommendations —the substance of all of which the Government has accepted—and the Government will bring forward legislation in due course. A range of further explanatory material will be published to support the legislative process.

Dangerous Driving

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many people received the maximum two year custodial penalty for dangerous driving while (a) under the influence of alcohol and (b) not under the influence of alcohol in each of the last 10 years;
	(2)  how many people have been given a custodial sentence for drink driving since 2000;
	(3)  how many people received the maximum custodial penalty for drink driving in each year since 2000.

Jeremy Wright: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.
	The number of offenders sentenced at all courts to the maximum custodial sentence of two years for dangerous driving offences, in England and Wales, from 2002 to 2011 (latest data available), can be viewed in Table 1.
	The Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings Database holds information on defendants proceeded against, found guilty and sentenced for criminal offences in England and Wales. This database holds information on offences provided by the statute under which proceedings are brought, but not the specific circumstances of each case. It is not possible to separately identify from centrally held data whether a defendant found guilty of a dangerous driving offence was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the offence.
	The number of offenders sentenced at all courts to immediate custody, and the maximum custodial sentence, for drink driving offences, in England and Wales, from 2002 to 2011 (latest data available), can be viewed in Table 2.
	
		
			 Table 1: Offenders sentenced at all courts to the maximum custodial sentence of two years for dangerous driving offences(1), England and Wales, 2002-11(2, 3). England and Wales 
			 Number of offenders 
			 Offence 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008(4) 2009 2010 2011 
			 Maximum sentence of two years for dangerous driving 14 14 10 4 11 8 4 3 5 6 
			 (1) Includes offences under section 2 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 as amended by Road Traffic Act 1991. (2) The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (4) Excludes data for Cardiff magistrates court for April, July and August 2008. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice. 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Defendants sentenced at all courts to immediate custody, and the maximum custodial sentence, for drink driving offences(1), in England and Wales, 2002-11(2, 3). England and Wales 
			 Number of offenders 
			 Offence 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008(4) 2009 2010 2011 
			 Immediate custody 2,723 2,484 2,424 2,240 1,843 1,669 1,449 1,217 900 791 
			 Of which:           
			 Maximum custodial sentence of six months 152 132 120 73 50 38 17 16 6 12 
			 (1) Includes the following offences: Road Traffic Act 1988, S.4(1)—Driving or attempting to drive a mechanically propelled vehicle whilst unfit to drive through drink Road Traffic Act 1988, S.4(2)—Being in charge of mechanically propelled vehicle whilst unfit to drive through drink Road Traffic Act 1988, S.5(1)(a)—Driving or attempting to drive a motor vehicle while having a breath, blood or urine alcohol concentration in excess of the prescribed limit Road Traffic Act 1988, S.5(1)(b)—In charge of a motor vehicle while having a breath, blood or urine alcohol concentration in excess of the prescribed limit Road Traffic Act 1988, S.6(6)—Failing without reasonable excuse to provide a specimen of breath for a preliminary test (2) The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (4) Excludes data for Cardiff magistrates court for April, July and August 2008 Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice.

Deportation: Zimbabwe

Michael Ellis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people of Zimbabwean origin have been removed to countries other than Zimbabwe since 2010.

Mark Harper: The following table provides the published information on the number of removals and voluntary departures for nationals of Zimbabwe by destination in each year from the UK, 2010 to 2012.
	
		
			 Removals and voluntary departures for nationals of Zimbabwe by destination, 2010 to 2012(1,2) 
			 Number of departures 
			  Total enforced removals Home EU member state (if different) Other and destination unknown Total non-asylum refused entry at port and subsequently departed Home EU member state (if different) Other and destination unknown 
			 2010 37 17 16 4 20 4 9 7 
			 2011(3) 41 28 12 1 16 2 6 8 
			 2012(3) 49 40 7 2 18 5 8 5 
		
	
	
		
			 Number of departures 
			  Total voluntary departures Home EU member state (if different) Other and destination unknown 
			 2010 466 376 4 86 
			 2011(3) 271 195 5 71 
			 2012(3) 194 146 4 44 
			 (1) Destination as recorded on source database. (2) Removals arc recorded on the system as at the dates on which the data extracts were taken. (3 )Provisional figures. Figures will under record due to data cleansing and data matching exercises that take place after the extracts are taken. 
		
	
	The Home Office publishes quarterly and annual statistics on the number of persons removed or departed voluntarily from the UK within Immigration Statistics. The data on removals and voluntary departures by nationality and destination is available in the latest release, ‘Immigration Statistics: October-December 2012’, tables rv.05 and rv.05.q, from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Science, research and statistics web pages at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/science-research/research-statistics/migration/migration-statistics1/

Entry Clearances: Overseas Students

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many people who have applied for a student visa in the UK have been waiting more than four weeks for a decision on their application;
	(2)  what the average waiting time for student visa applications made inside the UK was in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012; and how many such applicants waited more than four weeks for a decision on their application.

Mark Harper: As of 24 February 2013 a total of 16,391 tier 4 student applications had been waiting more than four weeks for a decision.
	The average waiting and processing times for tier 4 in-country student applications are provided in the following tables.
	
		
			 Table 1: Average processing time based on despatch date, 1 January 2010 to September 2012 
			 Despatch years Tier 4 (days) 
			 2010 49 
			 2011 41 
			 2012 (January to September) 84 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Tier 4 applications taking more than four weeks 1 January 2010 to 30 September 2012 
			 Despatch years Tier 4 (number) 
			 2010 102,406 
			 2011 78,553 
			 2012 (January to September) 48,647 
			 1. All figures quoted have been derived from management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change. This information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols. 2. Figures relate to main applicants only. 3. Figures relate to postal and premium (i.e. submitted at Public Enquiry Offices) applications. 4. Processing time is based on the average number of calendar days between the application raised {i.e. received) and decision despatch date. 
		
	
	In country growth in average processing time is due to increased intake across Temporary Migration routes. We have committed additional resource to the tier 4 route in response to the increased processing times. We anticipate achieving the current service standard; to consider 80% applications within four weeks of an applicant registering their biometrics, from April 2013.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to reply to the letter dated 28 January 2013 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr S Rizvi.

Mark Harper: I wrote to the right hon. Member on 13 March 2013.

Vetting

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans she has to appeal against the recent decision by the Court of Appeal on the disclosure of cautions on a Criminal Records Bureau check.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 5 March 2013
	The Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), and the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, my right hon. Friend the Member for Epsom and Ewell (Chris Grayling), have applied for permission to appeal this decision to the Supreme Court.

TRANSPORT

London Midland

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what conversations (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have had with officials from London Midland since the start of 2013 on its levels of service and cancellations; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Baker: Department for Transport officials hold regular meetings with London Midland to monitor and scrutinise its performance.
	I spoke to London Midland's Managing Director before Christmas to discuss their performance, and am meeting him to discuss this again shortly.
	The Department continues to hold London Midland to account to ensure that services improve.

Rescue Services: Belfast

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many occasions Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre, Belfast was staffed at below risk-assessed levels in February 2013.

Stephen Hammond: Belfast Maritime Rescue Co- ordination Centre (MRCC) was staffed at below risk assessed levels in February 2013 on 46 occasions out of 56 shifts.
	These situations are mitigated by 'MRCC pairing' where each MRCC is connected to at least one other MRCC which is available to provide mutual support. In respect of MRCC Belfast mutual support is available through a fixed link from MRCC Stornoway and dial up links from the MRCCs at Shetland, Aberdeen, Liverpool or Holyhead.

Rescue Services: Stornoway

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many occasions Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Stornoway was staffed at below risk assessed levels in (a) December 2012, (b) January 2013 and (c) February 2013.

Stephen Hammond: Stornoway Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) was staffed below the risk assessed levels in:
	(a) December 2012 on 20 occasions out of 62 shifts
	(b) January 2013 on three occasions out of 62 shifts
	(c) February 2013 on eight occasions out of 56 shifts
	These situations are mitigated by 'MRCC pairing' where each MRCC is connected to at least one other MRCC which is available to provide mutual support. In respect of MRCC Stornoway mutual support is available through a fixed link from MRCC Belfast and dial up links from the MRCCs at Shetland or Aberdeen.

Roads: Accidents

Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of traffic collisions in the last year involved drivers who had only recently passed their driving test.

Stephen Hammond: The Department only collects information relating to personal injury road accidents, and therefore does not include damage-only accidents in its statistics. For many of these accidents we hold data on contributory factors which reflect the opinion of the police officer attending the scene.
	In 2011, 2.5% of drivers were allocated the contributory factor ‘learner or inexperienced driver’ in reported personal injury accidents where at least one contributory factor was reported. As with all contributory factors, this reflects the police officer's subjective opinion, and there is no formal definition of an ‘inexperienced’ driver for this purpose.
	Statistics for the year 2012 will be available in June 2013.

Shipping: Regulation

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which regulations applying to the maritime industry his Department has proposed to ministerial colleagues in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills for consideration as part of the Employment Law Review 2010-15.

Stephen Hammond: In consideration of the maritime Red Tape Challenge, the Department is examining the body of maritime law including as they relate to maritime employment law.
	The Government plans to make a public announcement on the outcome shortly.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Bus Services: Conditions of Employment

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance his Department issues to local authorities on the application of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 when a bus company contracted to provide transport services goes into administration.

Brandon Lewis: The Department of Communities and Local Government does not produce such guidance.
	The Department for Business Innovation and Skills has policy responsibility for employment rights.

Council Housing: Greater London

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which local authorities in Greater London rehoused people outside their local authority areas in 2012; how many people each local authority rehoused to another local authority area; and in which local authority areas these people were rehoused.

Mark Prisk: The number of households placed in temporary accommodation, by local authorities under homelessness legislation, outside their own local authority area as at 30 September 2012 for each local authority in Greater London is given in the following table. Information on the location of such households is not collected.
	
		
			 Households in temporary accommodation 
			  Number of households in temporary accommodation within another local authority district as at 30 September 2012 
			 Barking and Dagenham 124 
			 Barnet 309 
			 Bexley 109 
			 Brent 275 
			 Bromley 229 
			 Camden 282 
			 City of London 12 
			 Croydon 0 
			 Ealing 7 
			 Enfield 122 
			 Greenwich 72 
			 Hackney 106 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 453 
			 Haringey 848 
			 Harrow 0 
			 Havering 0 
			 Hillingdon 1 
			 Hounslow 179 
			 Islington 451 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 970 
			 Kingston upon Thames 50 
			 Lambeth 392 
			 Lewisham (1)— 
			 Merton 23 
			 Newham 792 
			 Redbridge 387 
			 Richmond upon Thames 86 
			 Southwark 53 
			 Sutton 42 
			 Tower Hamlets 257 
			 Waltham Forest 492 
			 Wandsworth 74 
			 Westminster (1)— 
			 (1) The local authority did not report a figure. Source: P1E returns from local authorities 
		
	
	Information is not collected on the number of households that are made offers of settled accommodation in another local authority district pursuant to a duty under homelessness legislation.
	Information on the location of households prior to being offered permanent social lettings is reported by social landlords; however it is not possible to identify the reasons why households move from one authority to another.
	The Greater London Authority's mobility scheme—Seaside and Country Homes—offers people who are aged 60 and over and live in social housing in London the opportunity to move voluntarily to housing association properties across the south coast, in East Anglia, Kent and Shropshire.
	Homeless households solely reliant on benefits should not expect to be housed in properties that are unaffordable to working families. But, in the vast majority of cases, this will not mean local authorities have to move homeless households far away from their communities.
	Strengthened legislation means authorities must, if they regard it essential to move a family, carefully consider the impact a change in location would have—including possible disruption to employment, education and caring responsibilities of the claimant and their family. The legislation and the guidance on this is clear and we expect local authorities to follow it.

First Time Buyers: Brigg

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps his Department is taking to assist young people in Brigg and Goole constituency to buy their first property.

Mark Prisk: holding answer 11 March 2013
	This Government is committed to supporting buyers to get on to, and move up, the housing ladder and has taken a number of steps which can help first time buyers.
	Steps taken by this Government to support young people to buy their first property include: the NewBuy Guarantee scheme which helps buyers with a 5% deposit buy a new build home; FirstBuy which helps those who would otherwise not be able to afford to buy a home; and reinvigorating Right to Buy by increasing the maximum discount available to social tenants to £75,000, to help buy their home.
	First time buyers are also being assisted by low interest rates, which are a consequence of the Government's actions to tackle the deficit left by the last Administration. The Funding for Lending scheme is also assisting by increasing the general availability of mortgages at competitive rates.
	The Department does not produce statistics by constituency, on the numbers of young people who have been assisted in buying their first property.

Housing: Kingston Upon Hull

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many new homes in Hull have qualified for the New Homes Bonus (NHB) to date; how much funding has been given to Hull City Council under the NHB to date; and what estimate he has made of the number of new houses built in Hull as a result of the NHB.

Mark Prisk: holding answer 12 March 2013
	New Homes Bonus grant totalling £3,265,091 has been allocated to Kingston-upon-Hull council across the financial years 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14 in respect of 1,354 homes (666 new builds and conversions; and 688 long-term empty homes brought back into use).
	New Homes Bonus is a powerful, simple, transparent and permanent incentive for local authorities and communities to increase their aspirations for housing growth. The Government does not make separate estimates of the quantitative impact of New Homes Bonus on local councils' decision making.
	The New Homes Bonus impact assessment, published with the consultation at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/8517/1767788.pdf
	(see pages 36 to 59) illustrates the potential effect of local authorities’ response to the incentives.

Local Government: Conditions of Employment

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what his policy is on the application of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 when local authority contractors go into administration.

Brandon Lewis: It is for each local authority to take account of its responsibilities under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 when contracting out its services.

Shops: Empty Property

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 21 January 2013, Official Report, column 77W, on shops: empty property, what research, surveys, studies or data gathering his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) subscribed to on shop vacancy rates by locality.

Mark Prisk: My Department has not commissioned or subscribed to any sources on shop vacancy.

TREASURY

Business: Finance

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what monitoring his Department has undertaken of the Business Finance Partnership; and what reports have been produced as part of this process.

Sajid Javid: Progress with the Business Finance Partnership has been announced in successive Budgets and autumn statements and published on the HM Treasury website:
	www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/bfp.htm
	Further updates will be published in due course.

Corporation Tax: Northern Ireland

Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 23 January 2013, Official Report, column 449W, on corporation tax: Northern Ireland, whether he has set a date for a decision on the devolution of corporation tax to Northern Ireland.

David Gauke: The Joint Ministerial Working Group on rebalancing the Northern Ireland economy has concluded its discussions on the potential devolution of corporation tax and reported its findings to the Prime Minister. A decision on the report will be made in due course.

Floods: Insurance

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will take fiscal steps to agree the successor to the statement of principles of flood insurance; and if he will make a statement.

Sajid Javid: The availability and affordability of insurance in flood risk areas is an important issue for this Government. Constructive negotiations continue with the insurance industry and Government on a range of approaches that could succeed the current Statement of Principles.
	The Government is on course to spend £2.3 billion on reducing the risk from flooding and coastal erosion and deliver better protection to 165,000 households over the four years to March 2015.

Local Government

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what additional powers and resources city regions will receive as a consequence of City Deals.

Greg Clark: Details of the deals agreed between the Government and the eight core cities can be found at:
	http://www.dpm.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/content/city-deals
	The Government has also announced that it will negotiate deals with an additional 20 cities and hope to conclude these within a year.

Local Government

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much additional inward investment he expects City Deals to generate by 2015.

Greg Clark: In July last year the Government announced that it had concluded deals with the eight core cities to devolve power and responsibilities to drive forward economic growth. The Government recently announced that it would extend the city deals programme and negotiate deals with a further 20 cities over the next year.
	City deals are not about central Government setting targets but about decentralising power to ensure cities have the tools to drive forward economic growth. The levels of additional inward investment as a result of city deals will therefore vary depending on individual priorities but we are working with colleagues in UK Trade and Investment to help cities increase inward investment where it is a priority for them.

Revenue and Customs

Julie Elliott: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many additional staff have been employed by HM Revenue and Customs' Affluent Unit since 2010.

David Gauke: There are currently 190 (full-time equivalents) working on the Affluent Teams in HMRC—all having been appointed to the Teams since 2010. To date no additional staff have been employed outside of HMRC and the 190 have all been redeployed within from HMRC.
	There is currently an external recruitment exercise to recruit 18 Higher Officers and nine Grade 7 Case Directors from outside of HMRC.

Revenue and Customs: Cumbria

John Woodcock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff were employed by HM Revenue and Customs in (a) Barrow and Furness constituency and (b) Cumbria in each of the last five years.

David Gauke: The information requested is as follows:
	
		
			  Barrow and Furness Cumbria 
			 31 March 2012 6 395 
			 31 March 2011 6 424 
			 31 March 2010 21 494 
			 1 April 2009 33 569 
			 1 April 2008 42 263

Tax Avoidance and Evasion

Julie Elliott: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to reduce (a) tax evasion and (b) tax avoidance.

David Gauke: The Government is fully committed to tackling tax avoidance and evasion, and is taking steps to protect the Exchequer.
	The Government is already reinvesting nearly £1 billion in HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to expand its anti-avoidance and evasion activity. Following a further investment of £77 million, announced on 3 December last year, HMRC will now aim to raise total additional revenues of £22 billion per annum by the end of 2014-15.
	Alongside this investment, we are also implementing a number of policy changes to crack down on tax avoidance. For instance, we are introducing the UK’s first General Anti-Abuse Rule in this year’s Finance Bill to tackle abusive avoidance schemes and are enhancing the Disclosure of Tax Avoidance Schemes regime.
	HMRC is also addressing tax evasion through a number of operational changes; by using enhanced technology to detect those who do not declare their full tax liability, by deploying taskforces aimed at particular trades and professions and by establishing specialist teams to tackle affluent individuals with hidden assets in the UK or offshore.

Taxation: Business

Julie Elliott: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much additional revenue has been collected through HM Revenue and Customs' Large Business Service in each of the last four years.

David Gauke: The additional revenues brought in through the compliance work of HM Revenue and Customs' Large Business Service in the last four years were as follows:
	
		
			  £ million 
			 2008-09 4,862 
			 2009-10 4,555 
			 2010-11 5,742 
			 2011-12 5,041

Welfare Tax Credits

Stephen Timms: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when his Department expects to cease making new awards of tax credits.

Sajid Javid: HM Revenue Customs are working in conjunction with the Department for Work and Pensions to plan the transition of tax credits to universal credit, including the most appropriate timing for phasing out new claims to tax credits.

EDUCATION

Addison Lee

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education on how many occasions his private office has used private taxi hire with Addison Lee in the last 12 months.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 25 February 2013
	No Addison Lee taxis have been booked for use by the Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), in the last twelve months.
	From 1 February 2012 to 31 January 2013 Addison Lee taxis have been booked for the use of staff in the Secretary of State's ministerial office on six occasions, at a total cost of £141.80.

Civil Servants: Codes of Practice

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 26 February 2013, Official Report, column 468W, on civil servants: codes of practice, what specific instructions and guidance he has issued on guarding against breaches of the Civil Service Code regarding personal comments and briefings against individuals; if he will publish any such instructions and guidance; and if he will make a statement.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 11 March 2013
	Staff are made aware of the Civil Service Code through inclusion in their contract, induction of new staff and through the online HR Handbook. There are very high levels of awareness of the Civil Service Code in the Department, with 92% of staff in the last People Survey saying that they were aware of the Civil Service Code.

Curriculum

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what support his Department plans to provide for schools and teachers in implementing the revised national curriculum.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 1 March 2013
	Head teachers are best placed to decide which resources will best support successful implementation of the new curriculum in their schools, and on the priorities for continuing professional development (CPD) for their staff, and to secure these accordingly. To assist them we are adapting existing initial teacher training and CPD programmes and working with a range of stakeholders—including publishers, suppliers, teaching schools and subject associations—to ensure that high quality support becomes available.

Free Schools: Yorkshire and the Humber

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many schools have applied for free-school status in (a) Hull and (b) Yorkshire in the last two years.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department has received (a) two applications to open a Free School from groups in Hull and (b) 65 applications from groups in the Yorkshire and Humberside region in the last two years.

GCE A-level

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  whether his Department allocates funding to encourage students to take A-level sciences or mathematics;
	(2)  whether his Department allocates funding to encourage students to take sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics, STEM subjects, at university level.

Elizabeth Truss: The Government is committed to increasing the number of pupils studying science and mathematics subjects at A level and at university and we are taking action to support this. We are funding the Further Mathematics Support Programme (FMSP) to encourage more students to study Further Mathematics A level, the Cambridge University mathematics project to improve the teaching of mathematics at A level and 16-19 Maths Free Schools to provide a more challenging curriculum for mathematics. The Government also funds the Stimulating Physics Programme which supports schools to improve progression into physics at A level. These programmes help prepare students for STEM subjects at university.
	Wider Government reforms such as improving the recruitment of top science and mathematics graduates into teaching and strengthening the curriculum and qualifications will also improve the teaching and take-up of these important subjects.

HEALTH

Abortion: Lancashire

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 4 March 2013, Official Report, column 852W, on abortion: Lancashire, what the ages were of the women who had terminations.

Anna Soubry: The information requested is set out in the following table.
	
		
			 Abortions performed in Lancashire, by hospital and age group, 2011 
			   Age 
			  Total all under 20 20 to 24 25 to 29 30 to 34 35 and over 
			 NHS hospitals       
			 Blackpool Victoria Hospital 47 15 4 8 5 15 
			 Burnley General Hospital 1,562 365 482 293 237 185 
			 Fairfield General Hospital 109 26 37 17 14 15 
			 Furness General Hospital 168 46 49 33 21 19 
			 Ormskirk and District General Hospital 341 88 105 72 29 47 
			 Preston Hall Hospital 24 6 6 4 5 3 
			 Rochdale Infirmary 215 45 59 48 37 26 
			 Royal Blackburn Infirmary 2 (1)— 0 (1)— (1)— (1)— 
			 Royal Lancaster Infirmary 212 55 64 39 31 23 
			 Royal Preston Hospital 34 7 7 8 7 5 
			 Southport and Formby District General Hospital 3 (1)— 0 (1)— (1)— (1)— 
			 Westmorland General Hospital 74 11 19 22 9 13 
			        
			 Independent clinics       
			 Marie Stopes International, Preston 730 162 239 164 103 62 
			        
			 Total abortions performed in clinics in Lancashire 3,521 827 1,071 709 500 414 
			 (1) Suppressed value to protect the confidentiality of individuals.

Age: Discrimination

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what provisions are in place to ensure compliance with the ban on age discrimination in clinical decision-making in the NHS; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Lamb: The Government is committed to ensuring all patients are treated fairly, with dignity and respect, which is why from October last year we introduced a ban on unjustifiable age discrimination. Decisions about treatment should be based on patient's ability to benefit, not their chronological age.
	Guidance on the ban on age discrimination has been available to the national health service since May 2010, as well as more recent policy briefing published in September 2012. Compliance with the ban has been embedded in the NHS Constitution as well as in professional standards and regulation. The NHS Operating Framework sets out that all NHS organisations must comply with the Equality Act 2010 and the Public Sector Equality Duty. The Equality and Human Rights Commission holds public bodies and their staff to account in relation to the ban on discrimination across all of the protected characteristics enshrined in the Equality Act 2010.

Antidepressants

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many prescriptions for antidepressants have been dispensed in the NHS in each of the last 10 years.

Norman Lamb: I refer the hon. Member to the answer my right hon. Friend the Member for Chelmsford (Mr Burns) gave the hon. Member for Vale of Clwyd (Chris Ruane) on 11 June 2012, Official Report, columns 118-19W.

Better Hospital Food Panel

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will set up a new Better Hospital Food Panel.

Daniel Poulter: October 2012 saw the establishment of a Reference Group to oversee a project focused on Improving Hospital Food. The project has four strands—commitment, standards, incentives and inspection. It has the support of Age UK, the Patients' Association, the Royal College of Nursing, the British Dietetic Association, the British Association for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition, the Hospital Caterers' Association and the Soil Association.
	We have no plans to establish a separate Better Hospital Food Panel.

Cancer: Drugs

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will publish the new national arrangements for the Cancer Drugs Fund from April 2013 to March 2014; and how new cancer treatments will be appraised and recommended for funding.

Norman Lamb: From April 2013, the NHS Commissioning Board will take on oversight of the Cancer Drugs Fund. The detailed arrangements that will be put in place are a matter for the board as an independent body. We understand from the board that standard operating procedures for the Cancer Drugs Fund will be published soon.
	The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence will appraise health technologies and treatments, including cancer treatments, referred to it by the Secretary of State for Health.

Chemotherapy

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the membership and terms of reference of the chemotherapy clinical reference group will be (a) finalised and (b) made public.

Anna Soubry: We are advised by colleagues in the NHS Commissioning Board (NHS CB) that the terms of reference will not be finalised until the new chemotherapy group is formed. The group is expected to be formed by early April and the terms of reference will be published on the NHS CB website.

Dietary Supplements

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps he is taking to protect consumer choice in vitamin, mineral and other food supplements; and what guidance his Department has given on the benefits of nutritional supplementation for vulnerable groups;
	(2)  what recent representations have been (a) received by his Department and (b) made by his Department to the European Commission on the setting of maximum permitted levels of nutrients in food supplements under the provisions of Article 5 of the Food Supplements Directive.

Anna Soubry: The Government's position is that any future decisions on vitamins, minerals and other food supplements need to be proportionate to protect consumer choice and confidence in the safety and quality of products.
	The Department has received representations from a number of parliamentarians and groups representing the specialist health food sector, raising concerns regarding the setting of maximum permitted levels for vitamins and minerals in food supplements.
	I wrote to the European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy, Tonio Borg, on 10 January 2013 and the Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), met with the Commissioner on 17 January 2013, to emphasise that any future proposals for setting maximum permitted levels of vitamins and minerals in food supplements should be based on science and safety, to allow for the highest safe maximum levels.
	Current Government advice is that a healthy, balanced diet will provide all the nutrients that most people need without having to take vitamin or mineral supplements. However, there are certain groups of the population for whom certain vitamin food supplements are recommended, including women of child bearing age, pregnant women, infants, young children, older people and people who do not expose their skin to sunlight or are confined indoors.
	Further details on Government recommendations on nutritional supplementation are available on NHS Choices website at:
	www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/1122.aspx

Fertility

Kevin Barron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what measures his Department is taking to increase awareness among commissioners of the recommendations of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guideline on fertility published in February 2013;
	(2)  what assessment his Department has made of the recommendation of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guideline on fertility published in February 2013 that up to three full cycles of IVF treatment should be provided to eligible couples.

Anna Soubry: Infertility affects thousands of couples and can have a devastating impact on their lives. The Department has therefore welcomed the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) recommendations that in vitro fertilisation treatment should be available at an earlier stage and for more couples that want to have a family. The Department expects local national health service organisations to consider this new guidance when making decisions about offering IVF to their communities.
	The level of provision of health services, including fertility treatment, is a matter for clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) from 1 April 2013, taking account of the needs of all their population. CCGs will be held to account by the NHS Commissioning Board, who have issued to CCGs a factsheet about commissioning fertility services. This sets out how CCGs should approach commissioning fertility services and take account of the revised NICE fertility guideline. It can be found at:
	http://www.commissioningboard.nhs.uk/files/2013/02/fertility-facts.pdf
	The Department has funded Infertility Network UK, the leading infertility patient support group, to produce advice for NHS commissioners in England about standardising eligibility criteria for fertility services. This is signposted in the fertility factsheet.

Heart Diseases: Children

Stuart Andrew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the effect of the recent High Court ruling on the Safe and Sustainable Review of children's heart surgery services on the Independent Reconfiguration Panel commissioned by his Department on that Review;
	(2)  what steps he plans to take with regards to the Safe and Sustainable Review of children's heart services in England following the recent High Court ruling that that review was unlawful.

Anna Soubry: The Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), is considering the implications of the Court's ruling for the Independent Reconfiguration Panel's review of the Safe and Sustainable programme and the Joint Committee of Primary Care Trust's (JCPCT) decision.
	The safe and sustainable review of children's congenital heart services was a national health service review, independent of Government. It is for the JCPCT and, from 1 April 2013, the NHS Commissioning Board to consider the Court's ruling.

Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what comparative assessment he has made of the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis patients in the UK and other European countries; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: The Department has made no assessment of comparative treatment for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) in the United Kingdom or other European countries.
	The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment programme is funding a systematic review of evidence on the benefits, harms and costs of treatments for IPF. The review began in May 2012 and is expected to report in mid-2014. In addition, the NIHR is funding two one-year biomedical research fellowships studying IPF.
	In addition, the Department has asked the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence to produce a clinical guideline on the diagnosis and management of IPF. The guideline is due to be published in June 2013.

Methadone

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people being prescribed methadone or other opioid substitutes had their prescription reduced in 2012-13.

Anna Soubry: I refer my hon. Friend to the written answer I gave him on 4 March 2013, Official Report, column 862W. Data on whether doses of methadone or other opioid substitutes are rising, constant or reducing are not held centrally.

NHS: Public Consultation

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health who will be responsible for consulting patients on local NHS developments from 1 April 2013.

Daniel Poulter: All existing national health service trusts will remain obliged, under section 242 of the NHS Act 2006, to involve patients and the public in the planning of service provision, the development and consideration of proposals for changes in the way those services are provided, and decisions affecting the operation of those services.
	The Health and Social Care Act 2012 will require clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to involve patients and public in all aspects of the commissioning of health services from 1 April 2013. CCGs have to set out how they will involve people in their planning, and then evidence the impact of that involvement in their annual reports. CCG boards will also have at least two lay members sitting on the board, to secure strong patient and public voice in their decision making.
	The NHS Commissioning Board will shortly issue statutory guidance for CCGs on how they can promote the involvement of patients in decisions about their care and treatment, and ensure patients and the public are involved in the planning, development and delivery of health services.

NHS: Standards

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 4 March 2013, what the scope and timeline is of the formal audit of practice; whether the proposed audit will consider practice as well as policy; and whether trusts will be able to compare their practice against that of other trusts.

Daniel Poulter: The organisation responsible for carrying out the formal audit and the way its findings will be considered and used is the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecologists.
	I would encourage the hon. Member to write to them directly in order to get the relevant information.

Palliative Care

Sarah Newton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what opportunities there will be for the third sector to contribute to his Department's end-of-life choice review;
	(2)  when his Department's end-of-life choice review will take place; and what format that review will take;
	(3)  whether he expects to set out a deadline for the introduction of an end-of-life choice offer as a result of the end-of-life choice review.

Norman Lamb: We are committed to moving towards a national choice offer to support people's preferences to be cared for and to die at home. This depends on progress in implementing the National End of Life Care Strategy. We have said that we plan to review this in 2013, and departmental officials are currently determining how best to undertake this. We published the fourth annual report on progress of the strategy in October 2012.

Palliative Care

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress he has made in ensuring electronic palliative care co-ordination systems are available in every area of the UK.

Norman Lamb: The Department, in conjunction with the National End of Life Care Programme, has been supporting implementation of Electronic Palliative Care Co-ordination Systems (EPaCCS) in a number of ways.
	The roll out of EPaCCS is supported through the Quality, Innovation, Productivity and Prevention end of life care workstream. EPaCCS are identified in the workstream as a key tool to record the wishes and preferences for care identified through care planning, including advance care planning, discussions with patients and carers, and to support effective communication between professionals thereby ensuring that these wishes and preferences are met.
	An Information Standard, “End of life care co-ordination: core content” (ISB 1580), has also been developed to underpin the implementation and use of EPaCCS through defining a core data set that supports effective co-ordination of care. This can be found at:
	www.isb.nhs.uk/library/standard/236
	To support this, national interoperability specifications are being developed which information technology systems suppliers can then adopt (and be accredited against) to provide a common code of connection for the sharing of palliative care information.
	A number of tools have also been developed to support wider adoption. These include the provision of an information sharing and networking portal for EPaCCS on NHS Networks, and the dissemination of a case for change paper, setting out key information to support commissioners and others in developing business cases for the development of an EPaCCS system. More details are available at:
	www.endoflifecareforadults.nhs.uk/strategy/strategy/coordination-of-care/end-of-life-care-information-standard
	The National End of Life Care Programme has carried out a national survey to find out where EPaCCS have already been implemented, the approaches used and future plans for implementation. Over 30 EPaCCS are now implemented, in progress or in planning.
	The National End of Life Care Programme will become part of NHS Improving Quality from 1 April 2013 and is committed to carrying on this work during 2013-14. Ultimately though, any decision to develop an EPaCCS is for local determination.

Palliative Care

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has given of the role which access to (a) 24/7 community nursing and (b) an electronic end-of-life care register might play in achieving the NHS Mandate's objective that the NHS should be seen as a world leader in end-of-life care.

Norman Lamb: The Department has not made any formal assessment of the role 24 hour, seven day community nursing and an electronic end-of-life care register might play in achieving the NHS Mandate's that the NHS should be seen as a world leader in end-of-life care.
	However, increasing choice in the delivery of end-of-life care is a key aim of the Department's End of Life Care Strategy. Macmillan Cancer Support have done important work in assessing the availability of 24 hour, seven day community nursing as an essential part of existing choice in end of life care.
	The Department also believes that electronic palliative care registers are an essential tool for helping to making patients' care plans a reality. They are intended to provide instant electronic access to key information about end of life care patients to all health professionals with a need to see it. They have the potential to improve communication, co-ordination and planning and delivery of care, ensuring that a person's wishes and expressed preferences for care are taken into account, for example around resuscitation and preferences about where they would like to be cared for and to die.
	Outcomes for the Electronic Palliative Care Co-ordination Systems early adopters are encouraging. While sample sizes are still small, some sites report achieving Preferred Place of Death for 70 to 80% of those on a register.

Palliative Care

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the role of (a) care commissioning groups, (b) the NHS Commissioning Board and (c) his Department in achieving the NHS Mandate's objective that the NHS should be seen as a world leader in end-of-life care.

Norman Lamb: The Government's mandate to the NHS Commissioning Board for April 2013 to March 2015 includes an objective for the board to improve the experience of care for people at the end of their lives. This will be monitored through an indicator in the NHS Outcomes Framework, based on the VOICES survey of bereaved relatives. Implementation of the End of Life Care Strategy moves to the NHS Commissioning Board (NHS CB) supported by NHS Improving Quality.
	The NHS CB will work with clinical commissioning groups to ensure that services match local needs and are of the highest possible standards, in line with the mandate.

Psychiatry: Whyndyke Farm

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the psychiatric facility at Whyndyke Farm is due to become operational; what the cost of building the facility is expected to be; and what the cost has been to date.

Anna Soubry: This is a matter for the Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust.
	We have written to the trust's Chair, Steve Jones, informing him of your inquiry. He will reply shortly and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library.

Radiotherapy

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  with reference to the 2011 National Radiotherapy Implementation Group Report on Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy, section 12.1, when the National Oversight Group was established; how many times this group has met; on which cancers it has produced evidence-based treatment protocols; and what progress has been made establishing a common dataset;
	(2)  with reference to paragraph 2.7 of the 2011 National Radiotherapy Implementation Group Report guidelines on Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy (SBRT), whether clinical trials of SBRT are taking place for (a) prostate, (b) head and neck, (c) kidney, (d) pancreatic, (e) liver and (f) spine cancer;
	(3)  with reference to the 2011 National Radiotherapy Implementation Group Report (NRIG) on Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy, section 8.2, how many times the NRIG subgroup has met; and what recommendations it has made relating to the increased use of stereotactic ablative radiotherapy for cancers of the prostate, head and neck, kidney, pancreas, liver and spine.

Anna Soubry: The National Radiotherapy Implementation Group (NRIG) report, “Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy (SBRT) Guidelines for Commissioner Providers and Clinicians in England 2011”, was produced by a short life working group that was set up for the purpose of producing the guidance.
	The report made a comprehensive assessment of the role and opportunities for SBRT also known as Stereotactic ablative Radiotherapy (SABR) in cancer treatment and set out a number of recommendations, including that a National Oversight Group be created to take the lead on establishing evidence-based prospective treatment protocols for SBRT.
	In response to this recommendation, it was agreed that the United Kingdom SABR Consortium, which meets twice a year, would take on the national oversight role. The consortium has produced guidance that updates the lung, liver and prostate sections of the NRIG document. This guidance has been shared with all members of the consortium. The consortium has advised the Department that it will make the guidance more widely available in due course.
	The UK SABR Consortium has advised that there is an agreed dateset being collected by the UK centres delivering SABR treatment. Currently, the data is held at the individual treating centres, though the consortium is planning to pool and review that data in preparation for publication later in the year.
	There are ongoing clinical trials internationally examining the use of SBRT in a range of cancer sites. Details of these are available on the ClinicalTrials.gov registry at the following link:
	www.clinicaltrials.gov/
	The Department's National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) is not currently funding any clinical trials of SBRT for prostate, head and neck, kidney, pancreatic, liver, or spine cancer. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including SBRT. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the scientific quality of the proposals made.

Smoking: Bus Services

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to include all sheltered and unsheltered bus stops as a proscribed area for the smoking of tobacco; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: The Government do not intend to change the law to make any non-enclosed places, including bus stops without shelters, smoke-free.
	It is likely that some bus shelters come within the scope of the smoke-free workplaces and public places legislation in England, which sets out definitions of what a substantially enclosed place is. Where shelters are covered by the law, local authorities' environmental health departments have responsibility for enforcing the legislation, including providing the appropriate signage for the shelters.

Solanum

Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment has been made of the spread of solanum infection to the UK; and what the role of nurses is in preventing any such spread.

Anna Soubry: We have made no such assessment.

Tobacco: Retail Trade

Ian Paisley Jnr: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to his Department's consultation on standardised packaging of tobacco products, what assessment he has made of whether it would be necessary for the Government to purchase the associated intellectual property of affected tobacco companies in order to remove branding from such packaging.

Anna Soubry: The Government have an open mind on the issue of tobacco packaging. Following the “Consultation on standardised packaging of tobacco product” any decisions to take further policy action on tobacco packaging will be taken only after full consideration is given to the consultation responses, evidence and other relevant information. This will include consideration of the implications for the intellectual property of tobacco companies.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Art Works: Scotland

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she has had with the Scottish Government regarding the display and showcasing of the work of Scottish artists and designers in UK embassies.

Hugh Robertson: There have been no discussions with the Scottish Government regarding the display and showcasing of the work of Scottish artists and designers in UK embassies. The Government Art Collection displays works of art, mainly, by UK artists to promote art and culture in Government buildings around the world. Scottish artists are well represented and the collection includes works by Sir Henry Raeburn, David Roberts, John Duncan Fergusson, Eduardo Paolozzi, Elizabeth Blackadder, Douglas Gordon, Jim Lambie, Claire Barclay and Martin Boyce.

Direct Selling

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many fines for nuisance calls have been levied by Ofcom in the last 18 months; what the range and total value of such fines was; and what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the regulatory system relating to nuisance calls.

Hugh Robertson: The Office of Communications (Ofcom) has issued monetary penalties to two companies, during this period for making silent and abandoned calls to consumers. This consisted of £750,000 and £60,000 for HomeServe and Npower respectively, and further action against other companies is also currently under consideration.
	Ofcom and ICO regulate different types of nuisance calls and the Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, my hon. Friend the Member for Wantage (Mr Vaizey), has met with them three times since July 2012 to improve the effectiveness of the current regulatory system. Consequently, significant improvements have been achieved in improving information available to consumers through simpler website pages and a new Ofcom Consumer Guide, as well as a focus on improved enforcement action for those found in breach of the regulations. This has resulted in regulators using their powers to issue large fines as well as publishing on ICC’s website, the names of the most complained about companies. This can be found at:
	http://www.ico.gov.uk/enforcement/action/calls.aspx

Direct Selling

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps she is taking to co-ordinate action on nuisance calls by Ofcom and the Information Commissioner's Office; and if she will make a statement.

Hugh Robertson: I have met with the Office of Communications (Ofcom) and the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) three times since last July and pressed for improved clarity and awareness about their respective roles. This has resulted in clearer information being made available on both websites about the different types of nuisance calls, as well as an improved understanding of the enforcement process across both regulators. In addition, Ofcom and ICO work closely together through a memorandum of understanding (MoU), sharing information that may be helpful to them in their pursuit of companies that break the regulations. I will be meeting ICO and TPS again to see what further improvements can be made.

Internet: Access

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what proportion of people in each local authority area live within two miles of free public internet access.

Hugh Robertson: The Government do not have sufficient information on the location of free public internet access to be able to make such an estimate, bearing in mind the wide range of different providers of free public internet access.

Mass Media

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 6 November 2012, Official Report, column 526W, on mass media, which newspaper and other media proprietors, editors and senior executives she has met since 30 September 2012.

Hugh Robertson: The Department regularly publishes details of ministerial meetings with outside interest groups including newspaper and other media proprietors, editors and senior executives, full details of these can be found at the following link:
	http://www.transparency.culture.gov.uk/category/other/meetings/

Television: Licensing

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of the number of pensioners in Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency who will claim free television licences in (a) 2014, (b) 2015 and (c) 2016.

Hugh Robertson: Pensioners over the age of 75 are eligible to claim a free TV licence. The BBC does not prepare forecasts for ‘over 75’ licences for any area smaller than the UK. Forecasts are prepared for financial years rather than calendar years and are based on the trend in growth of ‘over 75’ licences from year to year. The figures provided in the table have been rounded down to the nearest thousand. As with any forecasts, these figures are subject to change as new information becomes available.
	
		
			 Estimated ‘over 75’ licences 
			  Forecast volumes 
			 2013-14 3,937,000 
			 2014-15 3,971,000 
			 2015-16 4,009,000 
			 2016-17 4,044,000

World War I: Anniversaries

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport in which events the Government plans to participate to commemorate the centenary of the First World War, by parliamentary constituency.

Hugh Robertson: The Prime Minister has announced that there will be national commemorations to mark the first day of the war on 4 August 2014, the first day of the Battle of the Somme on 1 July 2016 and Armistice Day 2018. Additionally, there is a wide range of activity, which is currently being planned, and will be announced in due course.
	There will be commemorative activity to recognise the importance of the engagements at Gallipoli, Jutland and Third Ypres (Passchendaele). Alongside these national events, Government are encouraging commemorative activity at a local level. A new Heritage Lottery Fund small grants programme, worth at least £6 million, will encourage young people to discover their local First World War heritage.

CABINET OFFICE

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the number of people eligible to vote but not registered to vote in each (a) nation of the UK and (b) region of England.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated March 2013
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your question asking what estimate has been made of the number of people eligible to vote but not registered to vote in each (a) nation of the UK and (b) region of England (148104).
	ONS does not have the data required to answer your question. Data are collected on the number of people who are registered to vote in the UK, but no data are collected on the number of people who are eligible to vote but who choose not to register.
	The ONS population estimates are of the resident population and will include some people who are not eligible to vote. Therefore the number of unregistered electors cannot be calculated based on the difference between the population estimate and the number of registered electors.

Government Departments: Location

Diana Johnson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what assessment he has made of the economic and regenerational benefits of moving Government Departments to the regions; what assessment he has made of the potential costs savings to the Government of moving staff and offices out of London; what his policy is on such actions; and if he will make a statement.

Chloe Smith: holding answer 12 March 2013
	This Government believes that prior to May 2010 millions of pounds of taxpayer's money was wasted by under occupying freehold space within London (and indeed beyond) while at the same time Departments were taking out expensive leases on vanity properties. The current spending controls on Government property, including the moratorium on lease breaks and expiries, will result in a reduction in both the cost and size of the estate. As at end March 2012, the moratorium has resulted in a gross reduction in estate costs of over £312 million since May 2010 and is on track to deliver a further £125 million by the end of the financial year 2012-13.
	The location of posts in Departments is decided by its business and operational requirements.

Long Term Unemployed People

Stephen Timms: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many of those currently classified as long-term unemployed have never worked.

Nick Hurd: holding answer 12 March 2013
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated March 2013
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many of those currently classified as long-term unemployed have never worked. (147494)
	Estimates of unemployment are derived from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). For the period October to December 2012 it was estimated that 871,000 people have been looking for work for 12 months or more, of which 145,000 people have never had a paid job of any kind or a place on a government supported training or employment programme. Estimates are not seasonally adjusted.
	As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty. It is estimated that the true value is likely to lie between 115,000 and 176,000.

Older People: Brigg

Andrew Percy: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people (a) of pensionable age and (b) over 80 years there are in Brigg and Poole constituency.

Nick Hurd: holding answer 12 March 2013
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated March 2013
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people (a) of pensionable age and (b) over 80 years there are in Brigg and Goole constituency. (147490)
	Following is a file containing an extract from 2011 Census Table QS103EW for all people aged 65 and over in Brigg and Goole for your reference. This is based on the 2011 Census definition of pensionable age. I have also provided the total for ages 65 and over and for people aged over 80 (i.e. those 81 and over) in the following table:
	
		
			 2011 Census—Brigg and Goole parliamentary constituency 
			  Number 
			 People aged 65 and over 16,550 
			 People aged over 80 3,373 
		
	
	This information is also available for download from the NOMIS website:
	www.nomisweb.co.uk
	
		
			 2011 census qs103ew—age by single year 
			 Single year of age People 
			 Age 65 1,014 
			 Age 66 1,160 
			 Age 67 1,025 
			 Age 68 977 
			 Age 69 881 
			 Age 70 802 
			 Age 71 867 
			 Age 72 792 
			 Age 73 792 
			 Age 74 695 
			 Age 75 693 
			 Age 76 708 
			 Age 77 620 
			 Age 78 581 
			 Age 79 576 
			 Age 80 522 
			 Age 81 472 
			 Age 82 461 
			 Age 83 417 
			 Age 84 397 
			 Age 85 352 
			 Age 86 290 
			 Age 87 294 
			 Age 88 237 
			 Age 89 208 
			 Age 90 187 
			 Age 91 134 
			 Age 92 90 
			 Age 93 68 
			 Age 94 60 
			 Age 95 57 
			 Age 96 41 
			 Age 97 24 
			 Age 98 27 
			 Age 99 7 
			 Age 100 and over 22 
			  16,550 
			 Notes: 1. Population: all usual residents. 2. Units: persons. 3. Area type: parliamentary constituencies 2010. 4. Area name: Brigg and Goole. Source: ONS Crown Copyright Reserved (from Nomis on 11 March 2013)

Population: Clwyd

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many adults were recorded by the 2011 Census in each ward of Vale of Clwyd constituency.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated March 2013
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many adults were recorded by the 2011 Census in each ward of Vale of Clwyd constituency. (148103)
	The following table contains an extract from 2011 Census Table QS103EW for all people aged 18 and over for the wards requested.
	This information is also available for download from the NOMIS website
	www.nomisweb.co.uk
	
		
			 2011 census qs103ew—age by single year 
			  Extract for wards within Vale of Clwyd parliamentary constituency 
			 Age Bodelwyddan Denbigh Central Denbigh Lower Denbigh Upper/Henllan Dyserth Llandyrnog Prestatyn Central 
			 Age 18 29 42 69 43 35 27 63 
			 Age 19 19 41 45 44 11 22 35 
			 Age 20 34 29 34 46 23 14 38 
			 Age 21 24 25 53 45 20 26 39 
			 Age 22 27 37 54 38 26 22 42 
			 Age 23 30 26 36 40 24 13 37 
			 Age 24 26 44 36 32 22 21 38 
			 Age 25 27 28 54 35 13 11 31 
			 Age 26 25 25 41 44 20 18 30 
			 Age 27 26 38 31 42 28 15 21 
			 Age 28 19 31 65 31 18 12 35 
			 Age 29 21 29 37 29 22 14 27 
			 Age 30 24 24 49 34 25 12 22 
			 Age 31 36 22 50 45 16 25 28 
			 Age 32 22 27 48 38 23 19 19 
			 Age 33 31 25 36 31 22 17 32 
			 Age 34 31 33 43 29 23 14 26 
			 Age 35 34 21 62 40 25 17 23 
			 Age 36 26 35 73 29 22 19 37 
			 Age 37 33 29 55 29 23 23 31 
			 Age 38 31 27 66 25 37 30 46 
			 Age 39 32 32 55 52 39 27 39 
			 Age 40 30 33 58 41 37 42 27 
			 Age 41 34 26 66 35 23 25 34 
			 Age 42 39 46 73 37 33 37 38 
			 Age 43 34 34 76 44 25 37 50 
			 Age 44 41 29 91 43 45 38 36 
			 Age 45 24 33 76 53 43 32 54 
			 Age 46 24 28 73 51 35 37 62 
			 Age 47 30 26 68 48 48 38 48 
			 Age 48 41 28 71 55 31 42 59 
			 Age 49 30 24 79 47 36 35 54 
			 Age 50 20 30 60 38 34 32 52 
			 Age 51 16 33 54 36 26 34 52 
			 Age 52 20 35 62 37 29 24 56 
			 Age 53 23 23 61 37 41 40 47 
			 Age 54 29 25 57 36 30 40 47 
			 Age 55 28 19 60 44 30 34 47 
			 Age 56 20 29 57 46 30 31 36 
			 Age 57 28 24 75 40 31 24 51 
			 Age 58 31 26 54 51 37 29 48 
			 Age 59 21 19 59 36 31 26 47 
			 Age 60 40 31 57 52 30 25 43 
			 Age 61 26 28 62 38 33 37 42 
			 Age 62 25 19 50 42 31 45 49 
			 Age 63 34 28 60 44 39 30 60 
			 Age 64 29 27 63 53 53 40 66 
			 Age 65 27 16 51 25 22 37 35 
		
	
	
		
			 Age 66 21 20 56 39 40 39 55 
			 Age 67 26 23 63 37 37 18 48 
			 Age 68 15 22 48 33 28 28 52 
			 Age 69 18 23 30 31 22 25 37 
			 Age 70 19 16 44 33 24 20 33 
			 Age 71 23 13 45 21 26 15 40 
			 Age 72 13 15 37 16 20 20 44 
			 Age 73 17 15 35 26 9 16 34 
			 Age 74 16 19 48 21 14 20 39 
			 Age 75 9 5 35 19 13 19 44 
			 Age 76 12 9 34 21 20 17 27 
			 Age 77 10 9 40 20 15 19 23 
			 Age 78 14 11 26 20 11 17 33 
			 Age 79 8 10 36 18 16 15 26 
			 Age 80 6 3 29 14 9 14 33 
			 Age 81 10 15 34 20 12 13 29 
			 Age 82 14 6 15 17 13 9 35 
			 Age 83 9 7 24 15 11 13 22 
			 Age 84 9 5 19 17 8 10 18 
			 Age 85 10 9 17 8 8 4 28 
			 Age 86 6 9 26 13 5 5 21 
			 Age 87 3 4 13 7 7 10 20 
			 Age 88 2 4 12 6 6 6 16 
			 Age 89 4 4 17 10 3 4 16 
			 Age 90 5 4 10 0 3 2 12 
			 Age 91 2 5 9 7 4 2 6 
			 Age 92 1 2 8 2 1 3 9 
			 Age 93 0 0 3 2 4 2 4 
			 Age 94 1 2 2 1 1 0 6 
			 Age 95 1 0 4 0 3 1 2 
			 Age 96 0 0 3 2 1 0 1 
			 Age 97 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 
			 Age 98 0 1 2 1 0 0 3 
			 Age 99 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Age 100 and over 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 
			 Total aged 18 and over 1,656 1,679 3,593 2,427 1,794 1,695 2,796 
		
	
	
		
			  Extract for wards within Vale of Clwyd parliamentary constituency 
			 Age Prestatyn East Prestatyn Meliden Prestatyn North Prestatyn South West Rhuddlan Rhyl East Rhyl South 
			 Age 18 50 33 57 35 43 39 39 
			 Age 19 43 31 51 36 38 52 37 
			 Age 20 61 15 53 38 34 54 34 
			 Age 21 48 20 60 35 32 44 46 
			 Age 22 33 29 51 31 40 44 34 
			 Age 23 40 29 50 33 44 43 38 
			 Age 24 46 13 60 38 61 40 30 
			 Age 25 45 17 52 35 30 41 38 
			 Age 26 27 14 47 36 37 35 38 
			 Age 27 37 15 65 44 35 44 36 
			 Age 28 37 11 60 28 37 38 23 
			 Age 29 40 18 53 37 29 29 36 
			 Age 30 26 27 48 35 31 36 25 
			 Age 31 41 16 65 45 36 47 24 
			 Age 32 35 33 56 42 25 25 31 
			 Age 33 46 17 56 28 28 16 34 
			 Age 34 35 21 54 31 31 37 31 
		
	
	
		
			 Age 35 33 20 50 45 32 52 29 
			 Age 36 42 26 52 45 50 32 38 
			 Age 37 67 16 42 43 41 38 36 
			 Age 38 44 17 65 42 51 48 42 
			 Age 39 43 23 60 44 58 54 47 
			 Age 40 60 29 64 24 51 51 40 
			 Age 41 50 32 72 53 34 46 40 
			 Age 42 45 31 86 35 53 50 37 
			 Age 43 53 34 66 45 48 50 38 
			 Age 44 58 36 75 43 52 51 40 
			 Age 45 61 30 63 24 48 42 42 
			 Age 46 61 25 79 56 39 58 45 
			 Age 47 71 34 84 48 49 51 44 
			 Age 48 53 32 78 39 70 48 50 
			 Age 49 74 32 85 43 45 51 43 
			 Age 50 58 28 67 46 42 46 48 
			 Age 51 55 23 69 38 61 56 46 
			 Age 52 44 26 63 47 45 36 47 
			 Age 53 57 17 63 35 48 51 56 
			 Age 54 48 26 66 44 41 43 47 
			 Age 55 53 27 61 40 45 48 53 
			 Age 56 45 22 71 31 35 48 51 
			 Age 57 45 28 70 40 37 51 50 
			 Age 58 58 25 68 44 47 65 47 
			 Age 59 45 14 69 53 47 53 58 
			 Age 60 47 22 69 47 44 50 60 
			 Age 61 46 28 71 47 55 78 60 
			 Age 62 46 30 109 60 67 72 65 
			 Age 63 49 28 103 64 65 88 66 
			 Age 64 59 28 97 69 77 77 68 
			 Age 65 55 24 76 51 43 78 53 
			 Age 66 42 22 81 60 64 88 56 
			 Age 67 77 21 90 46 60 70 42 
			 Age 68 44 22 89 53 53 73 60 
			 Age 69 37 20 69 63 59 63 45 
			 Age 70 56 12 96 47 54 63 45 
			 Age 71 36 28 85 50 48 66 51 
			 Age 72 26 27 89 49 52 51 42 
			 Age 73 39 29 83 44 60 58 63 
			 Age 74 32 17 72 55 38 46 56 
			 Age 75 33 23 71 36 42 60 46 
			 Age 76 32 22 76 32 41 46 53 
			 Age 77 27 18 69 34 31 51 38 
			 Age 78 27 23 63 30 32 33 29 
			 Age 79 23 12 47 32 38 36 39 
			 Age 80 33 21 47 39 38 41 24 
			 Age 81 27 14 45 24 19 42 36 
			 Age 82 25 4 39 26 33 34 26 
			 Age 83 26 8 28 27 19 41 39 
			 Age 84 34 9 30 23 21 34 27 
			 Age 85 18 4 21 21 16 18 16 
			 Age 86 13 8 23 11 11 23 17 
			 Age 87 19 7 33 17 17 24 18 
			 Age 88 15 3 24 6 14 24 23 
			 Age 89 12 2 28 11 10 16 12 
			 Age 90 10 4 16 9 7 8 12 
			 Age 91 16 4 13 10 18 10 10 
			 Age 92 7 2 12 4 4 8 3 
			 Age 93 6 1 9 5 5 6 0 
			 Age 94 5 2 6 0 1 1 1 
		
	
	
		
			 Age 95 1 5 6 3 2 4 1 
			 Age 96 3 2 4 7 0 2 0 
			 Age 97 2 1 5 2 0 5 3 
			 Age 98 0 2 3 1 1 4 0 
			 Age 99 0 0 1 3 3 1 1 
			 Age 100 and over 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 
			 Total aged 18 and over 3,121 1,571 4,624 2,872 3,042 3,477 2,994 
		
	
	
		
			  Extract for wards within Vale of Clwyd parliamentary constituency 
			 Age Rhyl South East Rhyl South West Rhyl West St Asaph East St Asaph West Trefnant Tremeirchion 
			 Age 18 109 93 71 14 32 12 18 
			 Age 19 86 91 74 13 16 10 19 
			 Age 20 84 77 91 20 18 11 7 
			 Age 21 65 84 71 14 20 24 23 
			 Age 22 102 67 79 17 11 14 18 
			 Age 23 85 70 82 16 28 12 11 
			 Age 24 88 80 97 21 19 17 10 
			 Age 25 94 62 70 12 11 16 23 
			 Age 26 93 61 52 10 15 15 10 
			 Age 27 85 60 58 14 20 11 14 
			 Age 28 77 61 52 13 20 14 8 
			 Age 29 91 62 48 18 15 17 13 
			 Age 30 77 64 58 14 14 29 13 
			 Age 31 76 80 61 20 19 20 18 
			 Age 32 81 58 56 15 19 19 14 
			 Age 33 71 59 43 17 13 16 14 
			 Age 34 102 77 43 8 20 20 13 
			 Age 35 84 54 40 17 17 17 21 
			 Age 36 91 72 59 27 15 21 12 
			 Age 37 91 71 43 18 21 15 15 
			 Age 38 92 65 58 22 20 10 23 
			 Age 39 109 68 65 18 23 22 27 
			 Age 40 107 76 47 21 23 24 25 
			 Age 41 128 75 55 21 24 32 16 
			 Age 42 128 81 66 28 31 25 28 
			 Age 43 101 71 63 19 20 16 31 
			 Age 44 106 75 68 28 25 30 27 
			 Age 45 114 58 52 17 26 31 32 
			 Age 46 125 50 60 21 29 33 29 
			 Age 47 127 72 63 16 37 36 26 
			 Age 48 93 77 72 20 30 33 19 
			 Age 49 104 69 63 24 23 38 15 
			 Age 50 124 61 69 30 26 28 24 
			 Age 51 103 60 59 23 20 36 25 
			 Age 52 99 71 46 24 24 28 31 
			 Age 53 89 49 60 26 15 18 16 
			 Age 54 95 59 67 25 15 25 21 
			 Age 55 87 43 55 27 15 26 17 
			 Age 56 115 65 51 24 14 26 16 
			 Age 57 114 56 55 21 26 22 22 
			 Age 58 84 48 53 23 16 26 24 
			 Age 59 91 50 58 17 18 35 25 
			 Age 60 114 66 48 19 26 26 30 
			 Age 61 95 52 54 29 29 45 46 
			 Age 62 99 48 57 23 28 36 32 
			 Age 63 107 66 69 32 24 39 34 
			 Age 64 100 68 44 23 23 37 37 
		
	
	
		
			 Age 65 78 48 32 24 13 24 24 
			 Age 66 84 51 47 20 29 28 21 
			 Age 67 62 41 34 24 25 28 21 
			 Age 68 83 34 26 21 20 24 22 
			 Age 69 74 39 33 20 18 33 20 
			 Age 70 70 31 48 18 25 26 14 
			 Age 71 63 30 32 19 15 20 13 
			 Age 72 78 42 32 32 11 22 17 
			 Age 73 59 29 20 23 20 25 27 
			 Age 74 56 34 18 13 13 29 16 
			 Age 75 57 34 19 18 15 15 10 
			 Age 76 45 19 28 18 14 27 13 
			 Age 77 45 27 14 10 14 23 7 
			 Age 78 63 25 15 14 5 22 10 
			 Age 79 50 31 9 17 14 17 9 
			 Age 80 46 16 25 12 14 15 18 
			 Age 81 39 18 18 6 7 12 7 
			 Age 82 41 16 12 10 13 17 9 
			 Age 83 28 17 12 11 4 16 6 
			 Age 84 27 10 15 11 9 7 5 
			 Age 85 25 14 9 12 7 11 6 
			 Age 86 20 5 8 17 1 8 6 
			 Age 87 22 5 9 9 11 7 5 
			 Age 88 13 13 9 8 4 6 6 
			 Age 89 19 7 5 2 4 7 3 
			 Age 90 8 5 2 7 5 18 4 
			 Age 91 15 7 2 7 6 5 1 
			 Age 92 9 4 4 5 4 4 1 
			 Age 93 2 2 3 3 1 5 0 
			 Age 94 5 1 1 2 2 4 1 
			 Age 95 1 0 2 1 0 3 1 
			 Age 96 1 0 0 0 3 1 1 
			 Age 97 0 1 0 1 2 0 0 
			 Age 98 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 
			 Age 99 0 0 0 0 2 2 1 
			 Age 100 and over 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 
			 Total aged 18 and over 5,870 3,759 3,369 1,356 1,343 1,626 1,317 
			 Notes: Population: All usual residents Units: Persons Date: 2011 Source: Nomis—12 March 2013

Suicide

Jamie Reed: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many recorded suicides there have been in each of the last 10 years, broken down by (a) age, (b) gender and (c) region.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated March 2013
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many recorded suicides there have been in each of the last 10 years, broken down by (a) age, (b) gender and (c) region. (147639)
	Table 1 provides the number of deaths where suicide was the underlying cause, by five year age group and sex, in England, Wales and regions of England, for deaths registered between 2002 and 2011 (the latest year available). A copy of Table 1 has been placed in the House of Commons library.
	Figures presented in Table 1 are for deaths registered rather than deaths occurring in each calendar year. Due to the length of time it takes to hold an inquest, it can take months for a suicide to be registered. The latest statistical bulletin showed that the median registration delay for suicides was 158 days in England and Wales in 2011. More information on registration delays for other causes can be found on the ONS website:
	www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/user-guidance/health-and-life-events/impact-of-registration-delays-on-mortality-statistics/index.html
	The number of suicides and age-standardised suicide rates for the United Kingdom, England and Wales, and regions of England are published annually on the ONS website:
	www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/all-releases.html?definition=tcm%3A77-29400
	Due to the size of the table, it will be stored in Library of the House.

JUSTICE

Alcoholic Drinks: Designated Public Places Orders

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people were (a) prosecuted, (b) convicted and (c) received the maximum fine available for the offence of not obeying an instruction to stop drinking in a designated public place in each of the last three years.

Jeremy Wright: The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and offenders found guilty and sentenced to a fine at all courts for not obeying an instruction to stop drinking in a designated public place, in England and Wales, from 2009 to 2011, can be viewed in the following table. There were no incidences of an offender being sentenced to the maximum fine of £500.
	Court proceedings data for 2012 are planned for publication in May 2013.
	
		
			 Defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts, and offenders found guilty and sentenced to a fine at all courts for not obeying an instruction to stop drinking in a designated public place(1), England and Wales, 2009-11(2, 3) 
			 Outcome 2009 2010 2011 
			 Proceeded against 179 122 138 
			 Found guilty 135 102 110 
			 Sentenced to a fine 93 63 64 
			 Of which:    
			 Maximum fine issued 0 0 0 
			 (1) An offence under Section 12 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001, which came into force on 1 September 2001. (2) The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice.

Bail

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what the highest number of offences committed by an individual remanded on bail was in each year since 1997;
	(2)  how many people remanded on bail went on to commit (a) no offences, (b) one offence, (c) between two and five offences, (d) between six and 10 offences and (e) more than 10 offences in each of the last three years.

Jeremy Wright: In 2011, the number of offences committed by those on bail was at its lowest level for the last five years.
	Table 1 shows the highest number of offences committed by an individual whilst remanded on bail in each year from 2000 (the earliest available) to June 2012.
	
		
			 Table 1: Highest number of offences committed by an individual whilst remanded on bail(1) in each year from 2000 to June 2012(2), England and Wales(3) 
			  Highest number of offences by an offender 
			 2000 66 
			 2001 40 
			 2002 34 
			 2003 63 
			 2004 53 
			 2005 60 
			 2006 34 
			 2007 59 
			 2008 125 
			 2009 56 
			 2010 45 
			 2011 35 
			 2012(2) 29 
			 (1) Includes people remanded on both police and court bail. (2) 2012 only includes January to June in line with published information. (3) Offences are based on data held about convictions and cautions. Source: Ministry of Justice 
		
	
	The numbers presented above represent a count of the total number of offences committed whilst on bail by these individuals in each year. Due to the way the information are stored, it is not possible to identify the highest number of offences committed during an individual bail occasion.
	Table 2 shows the number of people committing offences whilst on bail in each year from 2007 to June 2012, by the number of these offences that they committed.
	
		
			 Table 2: Number of people committing offences whilst on bail(1) in each year from 2007 to June 2012(2), by the number of offences committed, England and Wales(3) 
			 Number of offences(3) 
			  1 2-5 6-10 Over 10 
			 2007 39,274 32,886 4,285 703 
			 2008 39,881 31,830 3,728 615 
			 2009 40,555 30,470 3,433 579 
			 2010 40,100 29,527 3,392 637 
			 2011 36,536 27,735 3,330 589 
			 2012(2) 20,332 13,425 1,175 167 
			 (1) Includes people remanded on both police and court bail. (2) 2012 only includes January to June in line with published information. (3) Offences are based on data held about convictions and cautions. Source: Ministry of Justice 
		
	
	As above, these figures are based on counts of the total number of offences committed by individuals whilst on bail in each year. Due to the way the information are stored, it is not possible to group offenders by the number of offences committed during individual bail occasions.
	These figures have been drawn from the police's administrative IT system, the police national computer, which, as with any large scale recording system, is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. The figures are provisional and subject to change as more information is recorded by the police.
	In particular the recording of information on whether or not the offence was committed while the offender was on bail is known to be incomplete. This is because the police have available to them a number of ways of recording the bail status of an offender of which the ‘offence committed on bail’ field on the PNC is one. For operational purposes police forces make differing use of these various sources and as a result figures derived purely from the PNC do not provide a complete picture of these offences, and therefore changes over time.

Legal Aid Scheme

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of which areas of the UK will see the largest decrease in legal aid funded face-to-face advice services between 2012-13 and 2013-14;
	(2)  which areas of the country he anticipates will have no access to legal aid funded face-to-face advice services from April 2013-14.

Jeremy Wright: We have not made an assessment of which parts of the country will see the largest decrease in legal aid advice services in the next year. However, we anticipate that no area in England and Wales will be without access to legal aid funded face to face advice services from April 2013.
	Justice is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland and Scotland.

Offences Against Children

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many child sex offenders were released from prisons in England and Wales in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012.

Jeremy Wright: From the data held centrally, it is not possible to separately identify those offenders convicted of sexual offences against children, because the prisoner offence details held centrally do not include information on the age of the victim. Such offenders are included with other sexual offences.

Offenders: Rehabilitation

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the estimated cost is of the provision of supervision in the community for persons sentenced to less than 12 months in custody and subsequently released into community supervision.

Jeremy Wright: There are currently few rehabilitative services that are provided through the criminal justice system to offenders released from custodial sentences of less than 12 months.
	On 22 February the Ministry of Justice's consultation on plans for reforming the way in which offenders are rehabilitated in the community closed.
	Our proposed reforms will help reduce reoffending by opening up rehabilitation services to a more diverse market, using payment by results to encourage providers to focus on outcomes, and by making the whole system more efficient, so that we can extend rehabilitative provision to offenders released from short custodial sentences of less than 12 months.
	We need to achieve this in a way that is affordable within the context of the Ministry of Justice's commitment to deliver annual savings of over £2 billion by 2014-15.
	We have consulted on how best to structure the system so it is organised in the most efficient manner and we are looking carefully at responses to the consultation to ensure we get the details right. The response to the consultation will be published in due course.

Offenders: Rehabilitation

David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he is taking to ensure that every prisoner under 24 years old is assigned an individual mentor on completion of their sentence.

Jeremy Wright: We are committed to opening up rehabilitative services to a range of new providers, who will be paid by results to help offenders turn their lives around. As a part of this we expect to see more use of innovative approaches, such as mentoring, and for offenders to receive targeted support to tackle the root causes of offending.
	The Ministry of Justice's consultation on plans for reforming the way in which offenders are rehabilitated in the community closed on 22 February. We will respond to the consultation and bring forward detailed plans in due course.

Personal Injury: Compensation

George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what representations were (a) sought and (b) received from representatives of (i) the insurance industry and (ii) the legal services industry in formulating the proposals in the Consultation on arrangements concerning whiplash injuries in England and Wales.

Helen Grant: In formulating the proposals to be included in the 'reducing the number and cost of whiplash claims' consultation document, no organisations were asked to make submissions. However, Ministry of Justice Officials did hold specific discussion meetings with representatives from a number of key stakeholder groups including;
	Association of British Insurers
	Forum of Insurance Lawyers
	Motor Accident Solicitors Society
	Association of Personal Injury Lawyers
	Consumer Justice Alliance
	Access to Justice Action Group
	Association of Medical Reporting Organisations
	British Orthopaedic Association
	Royal Society of General Practitioners
	Officials also discussed the proposals with the Law Society as part of a meeting on the wider civil justice reform agenda.

Personal Injury: Compensation

George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of Professor Paul Fenn's report Evaluating the low value Road Traffic Accident process.

Helen Grant: Professor Fenn's report was considered in the development of the Government's decisions on the extension of the Road Traffic Accident Personal Injury scheme and the associated fixed recoverable costs. These were published on 27 February 2013 and have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Prisoners on Remand

Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners on remand in (a) HM Prison Holloway and (b) HM Prison Pentonville are (i) UK nationals, (ii) EEA nationals excluding the UK and (iii) nationals from countries outside the EEA.

Jeremy Wright: The following table provides information on the remand prisoner population as at 31 December 2012 in (a) HMP Holloway and (b) HMP Pentonville and the numbers that are (i) UK nationals, (ii) EEA nationals excluding the UK and (iii) nationals from countries outside the EEA.
	
		
			 Establishment UK nationals EEA nationals Non-EEA nationals Nationality not recorded All 
			 Holloway 71 14 16 2 103 
			 Pentonville 274 65 90 20 449 
			 All 345 79 106 22 552 
		
	
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Prisoners: Dartford

Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many people resident in Dartford constituency are currently being held in (a) prisons and (b) young offender institutions; and in which establishment such people are held;
	(2)  what proportion of prisoners resident in Dartford constituency are (a) women and (b) men; and what comparable figures were in (i) 2008 and (ii) 2003;
	(3)  how many female young offenders resident in Dartford constituency are currently held in prisons or secure accommodation;
	(4)  how many prisoners originally resident in Dartford are currently serving sentences of more than four years;
	(5)  how many prisoners resident in Dartford constituency are (a) under 18 years old, (b) between 18 and 21 years old, (c) between 45 and 60 years old and (d) over 60 years old.

Jeremy Wright: Table 1 shows the number of male and female prisoners held in a prison, young offender institution and female prison and with a recorded residential address in Dartford constituency area as at 31 December 2012.
	If no address is given, an offender's committal court address is used as a proxy for the area in which they are resident. These figures are also included in the answer. No address has been recorded and no court information is available for around 3% of all offenders, these figures are excluded from the answer above. Information on offenders' residences is provided by offenders on reception into prison and recorded on a central IT system. Addresses can include a home address, an address to which offenders intend to return on discharge or next of kin address and these figures are provided in the answer above.
	Comparable data on what proportion of prisoners resident in Dartford constituency are (a) women and (b) men in 2003 and 2008 is not available as the National Offender Management Service did not record constituency level data until 2010.
	As at 31 December 2012 there were no female offenders aged between 15 and 21 with a recorded residential address in Dartford constituency held in young offender institutions. Data on those held in secure training centres and secure children's homes is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost by a manual check of records.
	Table 2 shows the number of prisoners serving a determinate sentence of four years or more, those serving an indeterminate sentence for public protection, those serving as life sentence and those recalled to custody who had an original sentence of four years or more with a recorded residential address in Dartford constituency as at 31 December 2012.
	Table 3 shows the numbers of prisoners with a recorded residential address in Dartford constituency as at 31 December 2012 who are (a) under 18 years old, (b) between 18 and 21 years old, (c) between 45 and 60 years old and (d) over 60 years old.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large-scale recording system, are subject to possible error with data entry and processing.
	
		
			 Table 1: Number of prisoners and their location with a recorded residential address in the Dartford constituency area as at 31 December 2012 
			 Predominant Function Prison Female Male Total 
			 Adult Bedford  <5 <5 
			  Belmarsh  8 8 
			  Birmingham  <5 <5 
			  Blantyre House  <5 <5 
			  Brixton  <5 <5 
			  Bullingdon  <5 <5 
			  Rye Hill  <5 <5 
			  Standford Hill  5 5 
			  Swaleside  5 5 
			  Thameside  <5 <5 
			  Wandsworth  <5 <5 
			  Wayland  <5 <5 
			  Wormwood Scrubs  <5 <5 
			  Elmley  19 19 
			  Ford  <5 <5 
			  Grendon/Spring Hill  <5 <5 
			  High Down  <5 <5 
			  High point  <5 <5 
		
	
	
		
			  Isle of Wight  <5 <5 
			  Kingston  <5 <5 
			  Maidstone  <5 <5 
			  The Mount  <5 <5 
			      
			 Young Offender Institution Cookham Wood  <5 <5 
			  Rochester  5 5 
			      
			 Female Prisons Downview <5 — <5 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Number of prisoners with a recorded residential address in the Dartford constituency area serving a sentence of four years or more as at 31 December 2012 
			 Sentence Status Total 
			 Determinate sentence of four years or more 17 
			 Indeterminate Sentence for Pubic Protection <5 
			 Life Sentence <5 
			 Recall (Original sentence of four years or more) <5 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 3: Number of prisoners with a recorded residential address in the Dartford constituency area as at 31 December 2012 
			 Age Breakdown Female Male 
			 15 to 17 — <5 
			 18 to 21 — 11 
			 22 to 44 <5 44 
			 45 to 60 — 17 
			 Over 60 — <5 
			 Note: To prevent the possible identification of prisoners, where there are fewer than five in a category, this is shown as less than five, in line with the principles of the Data Protection Act.

Probation

Jackie Doyle-Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much was spent in each probation trust area on one-to-one work with offenders originally sentenced for (a) murder, (b) rape, (c) violence against a person, (d) burglary, (e) sexual offences against a minor, (f) theft and (g) criminal damage to property and who received probation of (i) 0-6 months, (ii) 7-12 months, (iii) 13-18 months, (iv) 19-24 months and (v) 25-36 months in (A) 2009-10 and (B) 2010-11.

Jeremy Wright: Central accounting systems do not record expenditure in the format requested. It would not be possible to provide the requested analysis without incurring disproportionate cost.

Small Claims

George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the proposed increase in the small claims limit under the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 on claimants who lack the funds to access legal services in cases where liability has been accepted by a third party;
	(2)  what representations he has received from parties concerned that the proposed increase in the small claims limit under the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 will restrict access to justice for the vulnerable; and what steps his Department has taken to ensure that such concerns are not realised.

Helen Grant: The reforms to be implemented in Part 2 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 on 1 April 2013 do not relate to the level of the small claims track threshold. However, following the publication of the 'Solving Disputes in the County Court' consultation response in March 2012, the Ministry of Justice announced the small claims track financial threshold for general claims would be increased to £10,000 on 1 April 2013. A revised impact assessment was published alongside the consultation response and can be downloaded from the Ministry of Justice website at:
	https://consult.justice.gov.uk/digital-communications/county_court_disputes
	In addition, the Government has just completed a consultation on measures to reduce the number and cost of whiplash claims. A proposal to amend the small claims threshold for damages for personal injury claims was included in this document, and an impact assessment—including an assessment of the impact of the proposals on the Road Traffic Accident Pre-action Protocol for claims where liability is accepted—was also published. Both documents can be downloaded from the Ministry of Justice website at:
	https://consult.justice.gov.uk/digital-communications/reducing-number-cost-whiplash
	No decisions will be taken on whether to amend the small claims threshold in personal injury claims until all responses to the consultation have been considered. A revised impact assessment will consider the impact of any changes on affected parties and will be published alongside the Government response.

Supervision Orders

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what the estimated cost to the public purse is of (a) a supervision order without a punishment element and (b) a supervision order with a punishment element;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of trends in the proportion of punitive and rehabilitative measures used by probation trusts over the next five years.

Jeremy Wright: Provisions in schedule 15 to the Crime and Courts Bill will require courts to include a punitive element as part of a community order. The Government published a full impact assessment for this and other policies taken forward as a result of the Punishment and Reform consultation on community sentencing. The impact assessment can be found at:
	https://consult.justice.gov.uk/digital-communications/effective-community-services-1/results/community-sentences-response-ia.pdf

Young Offenders

David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what support a young offender receives when their case is transferred from youth offending to adult probation teams.

Jeremy Wright: When the case of a young person is transferred from a youth offending team (YOT) to a probation trust, at or around the age of 18, the probation trust is expected to provide the level and type of support that is necessary to avoid future reoffending and to promote rehabilitation. At the same time, the probation trust must ensure that the young person meets the demands of the court order.
	Depending on the needs of the young offender concerned, this could include support and advice on employment and training, housing, thinking skills and substance misuse. Such support will be provided either direct by the probation trust or by other agencies.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Employment: Bradford

David Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department is taking to increase employment opportunities in Bradford.

Mark Hoban: I refer to the reply given by the Minister of State for Business and Enterprise, my right hon. Friend the Member for Sevenoaks (Michael Fallon), on 11 March 2013, Official Report, column 118W.

Employment: North West

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent assessment he has made of under-employment in (a) Barrow and Furness constituency, (b) Cumbria and (c) the North West.

Mark Hoban: The number of people in the specified areas who want to work more hours either in their current job, or by taking a new or additional job, are shown in the table. This group represents a minority of the work force, with nine out of ten people saying they do not want additional hours.
	The figures include people who say they would accept longer hours in their current job if the opportunity arose, in addition to those who are actively seeking extra hours. They also include people already working full-time (up to 47 hours per week) who still express a preference for more hours.
	The UK has a flexible labour market in which 6 million to 7 million people start a new job or change jobs every year and the range of new jobs coming up is very wide. This dynamism and diversity ensures most people can find a job that suits their particular needs. A job that does not initially provide as many hours as a person wants can provide valuable skills and experience and be a stepping stone to more hours when their employer is able to offer them, or by using the experience gained to move to a different job.
	
		
			  Number in employment willing to work more hours(1) (thousand) 
			 North West 320 
			 Cumbria 21 
			 (1) Workers are defined as underemployed if willing to work more hours, either by working in an additional job, working more hours in their current job, or switching to a replacement job. They must also be available to start working longer hours within two weeks, and their current weekly hours must be below 40 hours if they are aged between 16 and 18 and below 48 hours if they are aged over 18. Notes: 1. Estimates are based on small sample sizes and should be treated with caution. 2. Estimates have been rounded to the nearest thousand. 3. Cumbria is made up of the following local authorities; Carlisle, Allerdale, South Lakeland, Eden, Barrow in Furness and Copeland 4. Sample sizes are too small to provide a reliable estimate for Barrow and Furness constituency for this period. Source: ONS, Annual Population Survey dataset, October 2011 to September 2012

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what guidance he has issued to local authorities and housing associations about the classification of a bedroom under the under-occupation penalty to housing benefit; and what assessment he has made of the safe minimum size of a bedroom to be shared by two siblings.

Steve Webb: Together with the Department for Communities and Local Government we have worked with the Chartered Institute of Housing who have produced an online guide for social sector landlords "Making it Fit—a guide to preparing for the social size criteria". This was launched in June last year and is designed to help landlords to develop a strategic and operational approach to the size criteria, tailored to their local area.
	Separate guidance has not been issued on the size of rooms or their suitability for use as a bedroom. Rent levels generally reflect the number of bedrooms in the property and may take into account their size, but it is for tenants to decide at the point of accepting the tenancy whether the rooms are of a suitable size for their needs.
	The size criteria rules take account of the number of bedrooms as designated by the landlord and compare this with the composition of the household in order to establish whether or not to apply a reduction due to under-occupation.

Jobcentre Plus

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he has taken to provide support in jobcentres to people lacking in digital skills.

Mark Hoban: If a claimant does not have access to the internet at home, jobcentre staff are able to advise of alternative access points in the community. Most jobcentres also have the facility to offer internet access on site where necessary.
	Our new jobsearch site, Univeral Jobmatch, has modernised the support for jobseekers and employers. Should a jobseeker lack the necessary skills to navigate this service, there are staff in every Jobcentre who are able to coach them in registration and best use of the system.
	As part of our support to jobseekers, we will also refer to specific programmes to help people to use the internet. Where there are gaps in external provision, jobcentres have the facility to contract directly with organisations to provide appropriate support and training.

Jobcentre Plus

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department is spending on equipment that will be installed in jobcentres to assist digitally illiterate benefit claimants in each of the next five years.

Mark Hoban: Budgets have yet to be agreed for the next five years. The decision to install equipment is a local one depending on requirements. However, jobcentres will continue to provide internet access and support for digitally illiterate benefit claimants.

Means-tested Benefits

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when new applicants will cease to be awarded (a) means tested jobseeker's allowance, (b) means tested employment and support allowance and (c) tax credits.

Mark Hoban: Claims to universal credit start in our Pathfinder from 29 April 2013. This will focus on new single, unemployed people, with or without rented housing costs. Universal credit will replace means tested jobseeker's allowance for this group of claimants.
	A progressive national roll-out to other new claimants will begin in October 2013. The final date on which all new applicants will claim universal credit instead of existing benefits will be announced in due course.

Pensioners: Poverty

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 12 February 2013, Official Report, column 643W, on pensioners, what steps he is taking in response to the data generated by the material deprivation indicator;
	(2)  what recent discussions he has had with charities representing elderly people on the income and non-income-based aspects of pensioner poverty.

Steve Webb: As my answer on 12 February 2013, Official Report, column 643W, sets out, pensioner well-being is a priority for the Government. The triple lock ensures that the basic state pension will go up by the highest of earnings, prices or 2.5% and we have protected key benefits for older people including free eye tests, free prescription charges, free off-peak bus travel, free television licences for those aged over 75 and winter fuel payments.
	The material deprivation indicator provides valuable insights into older people's experience of poverty, arising for example from social isolation and ill health. It complements the income measure and underlines the need to enable people to have opportunities to work, save and provide for themselves and their families up to and beyond retirement. That is why the Coalition is reforming the welfare system to improve work and saving incentives, and provide more effective support to those out of work. It is also why we abolished the default retirement age, meaning most people can now retire when the time is right for them, enabling people to work and save for longer. Our plans for the single-tier pension, and for automatic enrolment into workplace pensions, will provide clarity and confidence to better support saving for retirement and make the default decision a decision to save.
	The indicator also demonstrates the need to tackle non-financial issues which strongly affect people's experience of poverty and deprivation. For older people, many of these relate to isolation, and state of health. I most recently discussed this at the 6 March 2013 meeting of the UK Advisory Forum on Ageing, focusing on how Government and others can work together to learn more about the issues at local level, and what needs to be done to tackle them. Government and others are already working together in this respect in the context of the Age Action Alliance, an independent network of organisations focused on practical means to improve older people's lives whose membership has just reached 315—a testimony to its value not only to central and local Government, but also to commercial providers, delivery organisations, representative groups, and older people themselves.
	On a bilateral basis, in recent months I have had several meetings with charities and representative organisations such as Age UK, and with older people themselves, including a visit to Abbeyfield care home. As plans for the single tier pension gather pace this year I will be engaging further with organisations with an interest in the welfare of older people.

Universal Credit

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many consultants were employed as part of the universal credit programme in each of the last three years; and what the total cost was of those consultants in each year.

Mark Hoban: The total cost of the consultants employed on the universal credit programme in each of the last three years is as follows: £5.6 million in 2011-12 and £2.2 million in 2012-13.
	There was no consultancy expenditure in 2010-11 recorded against the universal credit programme.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people working on the universal credit programme are employees of (a) Accenture, (b) BT, (c) Capgemini, (d) Hewlett Packard and (e) IBM.

Mark Hoban: The Department contracts for services from its suppliers and the number of staff working on the programme at any one time is a matter for them to determine. It will vary considerably over the life of the programme.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department has spent on developing the IT system for universal credit to date.

Mark Hoban: I refer the right hon. Member to the reply I gave to his previous question number 147121, on 11 March 2013, Official Report, column 145W.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he expects applicants without bank accounts to be able to receive universal credit.

Mark Hoban: Universal credit claimants who do not have access to a bank account will be able to receive payments from the start of the pathfinder from April 2013. Claimants will need access to a bank account or Post Office card account to make an initial claim during the UC Pathfinder, but we will also have the facility to make payment by simple payment where necessary.
	Through the personal budgeting support process we will also be taking steps to enable the majority of claimants to use a bank account to manage their UC payments.

Work Capability Assessment

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department has spent on the appeals process for work capability assessments in each year since 2009.

Mark Hoban: The following table shows the cost of appeals related to work capability assessment in respect of staff costs for employment support allowance and incapacity benefit reassessment appeals.
	From April 2012, the Department recorded employment support allowance work capability assessments separately. The data provided prior to April 2012 are the full employment support allowance appeal cost of work capability assessments and non-work capability assessments.
	Employment support allowance was rolled out within Jobcentre Plus in 2009-10 so the full year costs are not comparable year on year.
	
		
			 £ million 
			  Financial year 
			  2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 April 2012 to January2013 
			 ESA appeals 6.4 12.1 15.4 14.1 
			 Of which:     
			 ESA appeals—WCA n/a n/a n/a 12.2 
			 IB (IS) reassessment appeals n/a n/a 3.1 9.9 
			 Total WCA    22.1 
			 Source: Jobcentre Plus ABM Models 2009-10 and 2010-11 and DWP Ops ABM Models 2011-12 and 2012-13.

Work Capability Assessment

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effect of the implementation of Professor Harrington's recommendations on the work capability assessment on the flexibility of decision-makers in considering additional medical evidence.

Mark Hoban: A key aspect of our implementation of Professor Harrington's recommendations has been to empower decision makers and place them at the heart of the work capability assessment (WCA). As part of the decision-making process decision makers must consider all of the evidence available to them, including any additional medical evidence provided.
	Following the recommendations from Professor Harrington's Year 2 review, a regular audit of decision maker performance is now conducted via the Quality Assurance Framework, where checks are made on a sample of ESA and IB reassessment decisions. We also conduct twice yearly calibration exercises at a national level to ensure that there is a consistent application of the Quality Assurance Framework.
	In his third independent review of the WCA Professor Harrington made a recommendation that:
	“Decision Makers should actively consider the need to seek further documentary evidence in every claimant's case. The final decision must be justified where this is not sought.”
	The Government provisionally accepted this recommendation, and are currently working to understand how best to implement it in the best and most cost-effective fashion.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Private Sector: Development

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps she is taking to work more closely with the private sector for development aims.

Justine Greening: I want to see an end to aid dependency through jobs. On Monday I announced a step-change in how DFID works to drive economic development in developing countries. We will work with the Confederation of British Industry to see business and UK companies joining the development push with DFID.

Economic Development

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what strategy her Department has for economic development; and if she will make a statement.

Justine Greening: On Monday I announced that my Department will work with the Confederation of British Industry to create a joint strategy for business to join the development effort.
	My Department will also work in developing countries to remove trade barriers and unlock growth and jobs through supporting particularly small companies to grow successfully.

UN Aid Target

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent progress has been made on the Government commitment to meet the UN aid target of 0.7 per cent of GDP.

Alan Duncan: The Government will, as promised, meet its commitment to spend 0.7% of gross national income on Official Development Assistance from this year.

G8

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how her Department is supporting the UK’s presidency of the G8.

Justine Greening: The Prime Minister has said he wants to use the G8 to tackle the causes, not just the symptoms, of poverty, including work on tax, trade and transparency. My Department is working across Government and leading key elements of discussions that are relevant for developing countries.

Tax Avoidance: Developing Countries

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on tackling tax avoidance in developing countries.

Lynne Featherstone: The Secretary of State for International Development, the right hon. Member for Putney (Justine Greening), regularly has meetings with ministerial colleagues, including the Chancellor of the Exchequer. In these meetings, they discuss various issues of common interest, including tax avoidance.

Better Governance

Neil Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department is taking to promote better governance in fragile and conflict-affected states.

Alan Duncan: The UK will direct 30% of UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) to fragile and conflict affected states by 2014-15. Improving governance is central to all DFID programmes, and to tackling the drivers of instability, in fragile and conflict affected countries.

Water

Therese Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how she plans to support the International Year of Water Cooperation and events on World Water Day on 22 March 2013.

Lynne Featherstone: DFID will host events on World Water Day on how water impacts on girls and women, and our support to improving access to services and managing water resources. DFID will continue supporting international cooperation on water in Africa and Asia.

Afghanistan

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress has been made in meeting her Department's target for female children attending primary school in Afghanistan.

Alan Duncan: DFID has made a large investment in improving education provision in Afghanistan for all children over the last decade. UK development funding through the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund has contributed to 5.9 million children attending school in 2011-12. This includes 2.3 million girls, compared with virtually none under the Taliban. We have therefore exceeded our Operational Plan target of contributing to 2.1 million girls attending primary school by 2013-14 and will be working with the Afghan Ministry of Education as they develop new targets.

Afghanistan

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps she is taking to ensure that the Afghan government keeps schools and hospitals open after Coalition forces leave that country.

Alan Duncan: Since 2002 the UK has contributed over £685 million to the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF), to support the delivery of basic services across Afghanistan, including health care and education. UK support to the ARTF will continue after the security transition.
	In the Tokyo Mutual Accountability Framework (TMAF) agreed in July 2012, the Afghan Government committed to adequately resource health care and education to meet Millennium Development Goal targets. The UK, as co-chair of the first ministerial review of the TMAF in 2014, will play a leading role in ensuring this commitment is met.

Rwanda

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development in what circumstances she would restore aid to Rwanda.

Justine Greening: I refer the hon. Member to my written ministerial statement of 1 March 2013, Official Report, 47-48WS.

Telephone Services

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many (a) 0800, (b) 0808, (c) 0844, (d) 0845 and (e) 0870 telephone numbers for the public are in use by her Department.

Alan Duncan: DFID uses an 0845 number for the Public Inquiry Point. There are no other 08 numbers in use.